Hold On
by Gottabeelove
Summary: They watched it happen. They stood by, forced to the sidelines to be unwilling witnesses as the two of them destroyed each other. They watched them both die; fall to the ground bruised and bloody, burning. They each wanted to run to her, Bonnie and Caroline tried, but the three men subdued them before they could take a first step. Daroline/Beremy AU Warning: Character death
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hi, I just wanted to point out to anyone reading this besides Tanya and Jenn that this is an old story. My first TVD fanfic actually. It was deleted during the sweep and I was asked to put it back on . No need to review or follow. It's completed.**

**Prologue**

_I shot for the sky, I'm stuck on the ground. So why do I try, I know I'm going to fall down. I thought I could fly, so why did I drown? Never know why it's coming down, down, down. Can't find another way around. And I don't want to hear the sound of losing what I never found._

They watched it happen. They stood by, forced to the sidelines to be unwilling witnesses as the two of them destroyed each other. They watched them both die; fall to the ground bruised and bloody, burning. They each wanted to run to her, Bonnie and Caroline tried, but the three men subdued them before they could take a first step. Damon and Stefan shared a knowing glance, motioning towards the car. Jeremy nodded, picking up a protesting Bonnie into his arms and carried her towards the black SUV. It took both Damon and Stefan to drag a hysterical Caroline to the car, but once inside, she no longer resisted.

With that, they pulled away. The burning boarding house still a painful reminder of what they'd just lost. There were enough bodies, DNA evidence, and personal items in the house for even the most experienced forensic examiner to believe the five of them were dead along with Elena and Katherine. Even Alaric and Jenna were unaware of the plan. They would suffer the most. Sheriff Forbes didn't care, Stefan and Damon had no one to miss them, and Bonnie had charmed the town into believing she'd never existed. Elena's death hadn't been part of the plan. No one looked in the rearview mirror as they pulled away from Mystic Falls for the last time with nothing more than the clothing on their backs.

They were thirty five miles outside of Nashville when someone finally broke the silence. The car had become a delicate bubble of emotion. The only sounds were the soft sobs Caroline and Bonnie emitted in the backseat, both clinging to Jeremy like their lives depended on it. No one was without emotion, but the soft sobs were a far cry from the equally powerful witch and vampiric tantrums the two women could be throwing if they chose to. Damon broke the trance he'd been driving in for the past three hours to break the silence.

"We're about a half hour out of Nashville, we'll stop there for the night," he said, his eyes unmoving from the road. He reached over to the glove compartment, pulling out a small bag and tossing it to Jeremy to sort out the contents. Rather than dwell, Damon got down to business. "Your last names, forget them. Salvatore, Bennett, Gilbert, and Forbes are all dead as far as anyone is concerned. New Documents are in the bag. Damon, Stefan, and Jeremy Hoyt. Bonnie Clemens. Caroline Wells. Remember them. Don't slip up." Each nodded and the silence lingered.

Thirty-five minutes later, the car slipped into the port of a small hotel outside of town. Stefan and Jeremy stayed with the sleeping women while Damon got the hotel room. Trying to keep them asleep, they opted to carry them into the room.

Caroline was not sure how it happened, but somehow she ended up sitting on the couch with Damon drinking at two o'clock in the morning. "So she's really gone?" she finally asked, swirling the scotch in her glass as she stared blankly at the TV neither of them were truly watching.

"Yes, Blondie." He replied bitterly, pressing the bottle to his lips roughly as he took a long drink.

There was a long silence before she spoke again, "Why are they after us?"

"They are after you and Bonnie," he corrected, making the distinction clear. "Bonnie is a witch and you are a baby vamp. As far as they are concerned, neither of you can be trusted." He spoke with an air of annoyance.

She picked up on it immediately. "Why are you here?" she asked him pointblank. "I understand Jeremy, he loves Bonnie. He'd do anything for him. Hell, I even understand Stefan, he's got nothing left, but us now, but why are you here?"

Damon met her eyes, they were filled with sadness, anger, grief, and a wealth of other emotions he couldn't quite place. Caroline was finally the abyss she wanted to be. He looked at her, his voice void of sarcasm or agenda, "I promised Elena I would protect the three of you, keep you safe. I already broke it once, I have no intention of breaking that promise again. Jeremiah wants blood for what happened to Katherine. Or what he thinks happened to her. He's not going to get it though." He took the glass out of her hand, setting it on the table along with his bottle. "Go to sleep, Caroline." He instructed.

She wasn't sure why she listened. Maybe it was because she was actually tired. Or maybe it was because he called her Caroline, not Blondie or Barbie or any of the other patronizing nicknames he used to refer to her. She just pushed herself out of bed and crawled in with Bonnie.

The next morning everyone pried themselves out of bed. After a round of hot showers and a trip to the local Nordstrom's, they were back on the road. The car was still quiet, but it was a tolerable quiet. The radio played quietly Caroline and Bonnie now occupying the front seats, following the GPS Damon had set blindly.

"Where are we going?" Caroline asked from behind the wheel, glancing back at a half awake Damon in the rearview mirror. Each person in the car turned to look at him expectantly, wondering why no one had asked sooner.

He took a breath before meeting Caroline's eyes in the mirror, "Seattle. For a few months, at least. They would never expect it. We can wait for any trails to go dead and they'll get bored. We'll figure it out from there."

"I thought you made it look like we all died? Why would they still be looking for us?" Bonnie asked, raising an eyebrow to Damon, always suspicious of his hidden agenda.

"It will work for the town, your parents, Alaric and Jenna, but_ they _might not believe it. Vampires usually try to avoid being burned alive, I doubt they'll buy it," he said, smirking to Bonnie when he provided a legitimate answer despite her doubts. "It will however buy us enough time to put distance between them and us. Enough distance to kill the tracks on our scents."

"If they try to track on pattern, they'll end up in New York or Canada, because those were the first places we thought to go," Stefan interjected.

"Seattle is a wildcard," Damon said, wiggling his eyebrows. That was the first sign any of them had seen that Damon was still in there. They settled back into the comfortable silence.

They decided not to stop from that point on, taking shifts to drive. Two people awake at a time to protect the humans from anyone falling asleep at the wheel. The rule led to a few awkward pairings at the wheel. After nearly crashing the SUV into a viaduct while fighting, Bonnie and Damon were no longer allowed to drive together.

A day later, Stefan woke Caroline and Bonnie up just as the sun was coming up. He handed them both a coffee and pointed out the window at the Seattle skyline. For the first time in days, Caroline felt like something this all might be okay. Like they might be able to come out of this relatively unscathed.

"We'll be home in fifteen minutes," Damon stated clearly from behind the wheel. Caroline looked from Damon to Stefan. Home? What did home mean to any of them at this point? She chose to remain silent on the issue, watching out the window with a confused expression as he pulled into an industrial wharf. "Converted warehouse," he clarified. "Sorry, it's not the dream house, Barbie." He rolled his eyes at her vacant expression.

"Just shut up, Damon," Stefan muttered, to which Damon once again rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. Everyone climbed out of the car and stretched their legs.

They'd barely made it in the door before Caroline had Damon up against a brick wall by his neck. Breathing heavily with her fangs extended, Damon didn't try to get out of it. He could've overpowered her, but his curiosity was peaked when she slammed him against the wall.

"Bonnie and I lost our best friend in the world. Jeremy lost his sister. Stefan lost the woman that he loves. Just shut up for five minutes. No one wants to hear you talk or listen to your insults," she hissed, tears running down her face as her eyes flickered from deep red to normal. "Just shut the fuck up for five minutes." She let him down before running off to one of the bedrooms.

Damon rubbed his neck when she released him. She might have been a baby vampire, but her grip was quite strong. He fought the urge to go after her, wanting to both tear her to bits for yelling at him and hold her close until she stopped crying. He didn't understand that last part. Shaking the thought from his head, he glared at the remaining three people in the room.

"I'm going to go rob a blood bank," Damon said nonchalantly, before walking out the front door of the house. Stefan gave Bonnie and Jeremy a sympathetic glance before retreating into the bedroom he was claiming for himself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One – Beautiful Disaster**

_She's not a drama queen. She doesn't want to feel this way. Only 17 and tired. She would change everything, everything, just ask her. Caught in the in between of beautiful disaster. She just needs someone to take her home._

Three days. It had been three days since Damon had watched Caroline stomp across the floor in her ridiculous high heels and slam her bedroom door. A door that had remained closed, save for Bonnie, ever since. Stefan had tried to tell Bonnie it wasn't a good idea to go inside. Being alone with a vampire who hadn't fed in three says wasn't smart, but Caroline would never hurt Bonnie and Bonnie could take care of herself. She was the only one Caroline would speak to short of one word answers through the door to Stefan and Jeremy and a flat out refusal to acknowledge Damon's existence.

Just like every afternoon, Bonnie made her way into Caroline's bedroom, crawling into bed with the blonde. "You have to eat sometime, you know," she said, neither of the women looking anywhere but the ceiling. "Stefan said after three days it has to be painful, Car."

"I can't," Caroline choked out. "I'm not thirsty. I mean, I know I am, I can feel the burn, but I can't bring myself to drink. Stefan keeps wafting the small in here, trying to get a reaction out of me. I just don't have one."

Bonnie opened her mouth to speak, but no words formed. She had no clue what to say to the girl when she felt the same way most of the time. She knew it was in a vampire's nature to either truly feel their emotions like Caroline or shut them down completely like Stefan and Damon had. She just wrapped her arms further around the tiny blonde, pulling her close. Caroline returned the embrace, not letting go of her lifeline.

After a long pause, Caroline opened to her mouth to finally speak, "I just feel like part of me died in that fire with her," she murmured quietly.

"You and I both," Bonnie sighed.

"I know that Elena wouldn't want this for us, but I'm mad at her," she admitted, lowly. She took a breath before continuing. "I just don't understand why she did it. We were fine. The six of us would've been gone together. You, Elena, and I would probably be out shopping somewhere now or exploring the city, annoying Damon, SOMETHING, but she ruined it. If she hadn't tried to shove Katherine inside, we'd all be fine." She took another breath, trying to get ahold of her emotions before her fangs extended and scared Bonnie.

"You know why she did it." Bonnie said, "it's classic Elena. Putting herself in the line of fire for everyone else to be safe. She thought what she was doing was the best for all of us. She wasn't thinking."

"No, she wasn't thinking at all," Caroline hissed, her eyes turning deep red, causing Bonnie to jump. Caroline turned her face the other way, squeezing her eyes closed tightly until she felt herself relax. "I'm sorry. I just think she acted selfishly. Didn't she think about what her dying would do to us? To Stefan and Damon? Alaric and Jenna? We were supposed to go back when this was all said and done. Supposed to get some semblance of normalcy until it was over, but that's never going to happen now. Nothing is ever going to be normal again without her."

Bonnie swallowed hard. She was the logical one, the voice of reason among Elena's stupid bravery and Caroline's neurotic ramblings, but on this topic she definitely had some unresolved issues of her own. Mainly, she felt guilty. She could've thrown Katherine back into the house and dropped the seal with next to no effort. Elena knew and that killed Bonnie. Elena knew Bonnie could do it and she still acted on her foolish impulse. She would never understand why Elena didn't just ask her for help.

Once Caroline had drifted off to sleep, Bonnie untangled herself from the blonde, pressing a loving kiss to her forehead before moving towards the door. Jeremy, Damon, and Stefan all looked up at her expectantly when she exited the room.

"She's sleeping," Bonnie said simply. The look on her face warning all three boys not to question her dark, puffy eyes or Caroline's sleeping form. She walked into the kitchen wordlessly, pulling a bottle of water from the fridge. She didn't think she would ever get used to seeing bags of blood lining the shelves next to her food. _It's not like it will ever disappear,_ she thought to herself, sighing. She would have to get used to it. Used to blood, used to running, used to Damon. None of these things would be easy, but they sounded better than dying to Bonnie. Better than risking Caroline or Jeremy's lives.

Lost in thought, she jumped when Jeremy wrapped his arms around her from behind. He pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder as an apology for scaring her. She rested her hands on his arms, leaning back against him with her eyes closed.

"How is Car?" he asked quietly, knowing it didn't matter how quietly he spoke around the three vampires, they could still hear. He liked to pretend he could still have a little privacy in life.

"Not good," she admitted, "she's floating. I still can't get her to eat and I don't know how much longer she can keep starving herself before her basic instincts take over. She's just so broken and I don't even know where to begin to fix her."

Bonnie's expression was sad almost hopeless, Jeremy's was much the same. Caroline was like a sister to him. Seeing her so torn up only made him hurt more. They were all suffering the same loss, but Caroline's vampire status made her emotions that much stronger. He wished she would let him in the room so he could at least give her a hug, do something other than hear updates from Bonnie.

"I wish she would at least eat," Jeremy finally spoke.

"You and me both," Bonnie sighed.

"I bet I could get her to eat," Damon said with a smirk, not moving from his spot on the couch. He'd been listening to their conversation the whole time. He knew he shouldn't, but when did common decency ever stop him from doing anything?

"Damon if you so much as set foot in her bedroom without a verbal and clear invitation from Caroline, I will make you beg for the aneurism treatment," Bonnie threatened, taking a step towards him. Jeremy's arms tightened around her waist, holding her back.

"Kinky," he smirked, chuckling as her face contorted into a scowl. He stood from his spot on the couch and walked to his bed room before she had a chance to make his head explode like she loved to do to him.

"Just ignore him, Bon," Jeremy whispered in her ear, running his hands up and down her arms in an effort to soothe the anger that always boiled in his girlfriend when she was interacting with Damon. "You need to learn how to tune him out. That's what.." he trailed off before taking a breath, "that's what Elena always told me."

Bonnie just nodded and took another drink from her water bottle. "Let's just get out of here for a bit. This house is like a twenty-four hour funeral. I need to get out," she said, regretting it when she realized Stefan was still in ear shot. She looked at him apologetically, "Sorry. Call me if Caroline wakes up before we get back?" she asked, sliding her new cell phone off the counter and beginning to walk towards the door. Jeremy and Stefan shared a knowing glance before Jeremy raced after Bonnie, following her out the front door.

Stefan sighed. In his mind, there was no denying that Elena had been the glue that held each of them together in some way. It was going to be hard, but they needed to figure out a way to hold themselves together. The first step in that process was fixing Caroline and as much as it killed him, he knew he wasn't the one who could do it. He stood from the couch and peaked into Caroline's room. She was still asleep, something he was thankful for. He didn't have to worry as much about her when she was sleeping. He listened to her breathing become more and more erratic and he moved to her. She was having a nightmare.

_Caroline was running, running through the woods. She wasn't sure why until she heard a deep growl from behind her. Jeremiah. She ran faster than she ever thought she could, ignoring everything around her. She knew she needed to move, but she tripped, tumbling down. Jeremiah was coming, coming for her. They both jumped and she pinned him to the ground. _

Caroline opened her eyes, expecting to see Jeremiah pinned underneath her, but it wasn't Jeremiah. It was Stefan. He was looking up at her with a surprised expression. She closed her eyes, allowing her fangs to retract and her eyes to return to normal, climbing off of him immediately.

"Stefan, I'm sorry," she said. "I was having a nightmare," she added in a mumble.

Stefan stood, shaking his head. Had she really just taken him down like that after three days without blood? He was a little impressed, but he quickly shook that thought from his head. "It's fine. Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Just a nightmare," she shrugged it off, climbing back into bed.

Stefan looked at her sadly, "I'm sorry. How are- Are you- You know you really should drink something," he stumbled over himself.

"Stefan, I appreciate you trying, but I'm really not hungry or thirsty. Honestly. I kind of just want to be alone if it's okay," she suggested, her eyes shifting from him to the door and back to him again.

"Of course, Caroline," Stefan nodded politely before walking out of the room with a sigh. Another unsuccessful attempt at fixing Caroline.

Caroline sighed and climbed back into bed. She felt bad kicking him out, but she couldn't be his friend right now. She couldn't be anyone's anything right now. She wanted nothing more than to pull the covers over her head and pretend that she'd wake up from all of this and go back to life in Mystic Falls. She was quickly realizing that she needed to come to terms, she needed to accept that this was her reality now.

Stefan shuffled his feet as he walked out of her bedroom, closing the door behind him. He didn't want to do it, but he knew what he had to do. There was only one person Caroline ever listened to besides Elena. The same person who caused most of the problems in her life as well. He knocked on Damon's bedroom before walking in, not waiting for a response. Damon was sprawled out on his bed with a glass of something alcoholic in one hand, he looked up at Stefan when he entered.

"Can I help you?" Damon asked, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

"You need to fix this," Stefan said, pointing to Caroline's room. "You may not be the primary cause, but you definitely had a hand in her not leaving her room since we got here and her refusal to eat. You need to fix this."

"If Blondie won't eat, I don't know what you expect me to do, short of holding her down while you pour blood down her throat," he said, holding back a chuckle at the imagery, before his expression turned serious again. "There's nothing I can do. Even if I could, Witchy pretty much threatened my life if I went anywhere near Caroline. I'm trying not to rock the boat for once."

"We both know that she listens to you for God knows what reason. The rest of us have tried and failed, just humor me. I think Bonnie will wave any impending threats if you can get Caroline to drink something. Think of it as extra motivation," Stefan said with a smirk.

"Fine," Damon said in his typical dramatic fashion, slowly pushing himself up from the bed, resting his glass on the nightstand. He walked into the kitchen and pulled a blood bag from the fridge, knowing she probably wouldn't drink it but Stefan wasn't going to shut up until he at least tried. He walked leisurely across the room, opening Caroline's bedroom door and kicking it closed once he was inside. Not bothering to hide the smirk that spread across her face when he heard Stefan scoff from the other side of the door, Damon took a seat on the edge of the bed.

Caroline didn't need to pull the covers back from over her head to know who was now in her room. The smell of scotch and leather was wafting through the air before he even walked in. She didn't want to see him or anyone but Bonnie for that matter. She pulled the covers away from her face, her glare already fixed. "Leave," she growled.

"Drink this and I will," Damon said calmly. He held the blood bag out to her, letting out a frustrated sigh when she made no more to take it. "Why are you so hell bend on starving yourself? What do you think you are accomplishing, Blondie?"

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" Caroline groaned, sitting up in the bed. "I'm not thirsty. Why can't everyone just accept that?"

It wasn't until Caroline sat up that Damon actually found himself beginning to worry. Caroline looked emaciated and pale. Her already small frame looked tiny, engulfed by the pillows and while be spread. His brow furrowed.

"Caroline," he said, "you need to drink this and you need to do it now." He spoke with an air of finality, the teasing tone he'd held earlier completely gone.

"Why do you care so much, Damon?" she huffed. She was gearing up to yell, to scream, physically remove him from her room, whatever it took to be alone again. Then he spoke and his words caught her completely off guard.

Damon leaned forward grasping her shoulders in his hands, making sure she was looking at him. "Because I care about you," he said, firmly. "Because Bonnie cares about you, Elena cared about you."

Caroline just stared at him for a few moments, her bottom lip beginning to quiver as her eyes welled up with tears. She wasn't sure what possessed her to do it, but she quickly found herself burying her face against his neck. She cried against him for longer than she cared to count, his hand running tentatively up and down her back. She didn't know why he was being so nice, but she didn't fight him when he pressed the blood bag to her lips. Her hands moved to squeeze it, pushing more of the thick red liquid into her mouth, not realizing how thirsty she was until it started to run down her throat.

Once her thirst was satisfied, Caroline fell back to sleep and Damon vacated the room with a smug grin on his face. He could hold this above Bonnie's head for a long time to come and he would the next time he needed leverage against her. Now wasn't the time so he moved back to his room, thinking about his words. Did he mean them? He wasn't sure, but he knew if Caroline killed Jeremy or Bonnie because she didn't eat Stefan would somehow make it Damon's fault. Getting her to eat again served everyone's interests and maybe, just maybe Damon's own interests.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Two – Half Life**

_I'm awake in the afternoon. I fell asleep in the living room and it's one of those moments when everything is so clear. Before the truth goes back into hiding, I want to decide because it's worth deciding to work on finding something more than this fear. It takes so much out of me to pretend. Tell me now, tell me how to make amends. Lately, something here don't feel right. This is just a half-life. Is there really no escape? No escape from time of any kind. Maybe, I need to see the daylight to leave behind this half-life. Don't you see I'm breaking down?_

"I hate this," Bonnie said, rolling her eyes as she waited for Damon to respond to Caroline's request for this credit card.

"Deal with it. You are dependent on me," Damon gave a satisfied smirk to Bonnie as he handed his credit card along with a fake ID that matched the fake last name on the card. Bonnie just continued her glare, not particularly enjoying being dependent on him.

"You just made the biggest mistake of your life and considering you are a hundred and fifty, that's saying something," Caroline said, smirking happily as she inspected the black card in her hand. She knew black meant no limit and no limit meant fun.

Damon raised an eyebrow at her words, "What mistake would that be?" he asked, looking down at the blonde vampire.

"You just gave Caroline Fo-Wells," she corrected herself before beginning again. "You just gave Caroline your credit card." Bonnie smirked as Jeremy wrapped his arms around her. "That's like giving an inmate the keys to the gate."

Damon's smirk fell at her words, quickly realizing how right Bonnie was. He glanced over at Caroline who was happily filing the new ID and credit card into her wallet, clearly she has no intention of giving them back to him. He rolled his eyes at her terrifying enthusiasm for shopping, "Just don't bankrupt us."

"I make no promises. Everyone needs more clothing, a whole wardrobe and this house is desperate for an overhaul in the décor department," Caroline said, knowing that even if she bought the entire mall she couldn't even drain a quarter of one of Damon's bank accounts. She smiled, taking the keys from his hand. "Maybe we'll try to brighten up your wardrobe a little. Throw some color in it," she teased, as she and Bonnie headed towards the door.

Damon's brow furrowed, unsure if she was kidding or not. "If you bring home anything that isn't black, brown, or grey, I'm not wearing it!" He called after them like a petulant child. He turned around, rolling his eyes at Jeremy and Stefan, both snickering, before he moved to the fridge for blood.

"He does realize they are going to bring home the loudest, most obnoxious shirt they can fine, right?" Jeremy asked looking over at Stefan.

**TVD**

Caroline climbed into the driver's seat of the black mustang, a replacement for the black SUV that now rested at the bottom of the Puget Sound thanks to Stefan and Damon. It was too easily tracked and needed to go. She started the engine and pulled away from the pier, putting the top down as they drove into Seattle on the unseasonably warm day.

"Would it be horrible of us to replace Damon's entire wardrobe at J. Crew?" Bonnie asked, causing both girls to erupt with laughter. She looked over at Caroline, happy to see a smile back on her face. She'd never verbalized her feelings, but she was thankful Damon could get through to her. The last few days had been hellish but now that she had one of her best friends back, it was getting a little bit better.

Caroline found a parking spot near the main shopping strip and shifted the car into park. The two women linked arms and began to walk down the street, looking at the variety of shops that Seattle had to offer. She was going to enjoy that day and Damon's credit card was already burning a hole in her wallet. Once they'd made three trips back to the car to drop off countless shopping bags, the two girls decided to break for lunch.

"Are you trying to prove me right with Damon?" Bonnie asked as she looked through the stack of receipts they'd collected throughout the day. "You must have spent at least twenty thousand dollars and it's only lunch time. I'm afraid to actually add these up." She finally looked up at the blonde with an incredulous look on her face.

"Bon, we're buying entire wardrobe's for five people, it's going to be expensive," Caroline said with certainty. If there was any area of knowledge she could call herself an expert on, it would be fashion. "Plus, Jimmy Choo's are expensive, so are those silly designer button-ups Damon lives in." She laughed, taking another bite of the cheesecake on her plate. "Jeremy and Stefan are easy. We could literally walk into American Apparel or American Eagle, buy two of everything, and be done."

"The sad thing is you are completely right," Bonnie said, shaking her head, "Damon is such a girl." They both chuckled lightheartedly, both thankful it was finally okay to laugh again.

"We have to get to Kenneth Cole before it closes. They had a leather jacket in the display window that looked almost identical to Damon's," Caroline said.

"And?" Bonnie questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"And he lost his in the fire and he really liked it. It might be nice to replace it for him." She said. "It was a comfort thing, I would imagine." She shrugged, looking to Bonnie whose apathetic expression hadn't changed. Caroline sighed, "We are all together for the long hall. This is an olive branch, we need to be civil." She pushed the remains of her cheesecake around her plate as Bonnie finally sighed and nodded in agreement.

"No, you're right we have to try and get along," she said reluctantly. Caroline just smiled, all too happy to hand Damon's credit card to the waitress and wait at the table for it to be returned.

"You're all set, Mrs. Hoyt. Have a good day," the waitress said with a smile setting the billfold back on the table. Caroline and Bonnie erupted into laughter as soon as she left the table.

"Never, never will I be a Hoyt," she said, "or a Salvatore for that matter," she whispered to Bonnie, retrieving the card from the fold before the two woman walked out of the restaurant and continued on their shopping trip.

**TVD**

"We need to destroy these receipts before we get home," Bonnie said, as she finally finished adding them up in the car on the way home. She looked up at Caroline with a shocked expression, shaking her head in disbelief. The entire trunk was packed to the absolute brim, along with the backseat and the floor of the passenger's side of the car, forcing Bonnie to sit indian-style in the seat. Caroline couldn't even see out the back window of her car.

"I'm slightly afraid to ask, but how much did we spend? It couldn't have been that bad, could it be?" Caroline asked hesitantly, her eyes shifting to Bonnie then back to the road.

"I don't think you want to know," she said honestly. "Plausible deniability will be good when Damon gets his bill. Then we can just pretend we didn't pay that much attention to how much we spent." She looked over at Caroline before they pulled onto the pier and parked the car. They both climbed out and Bonnie set the stack of receipts on the ground, burning them quickly. They grabbed an armful of bags and walked into the house. The three boys just stared making no move to get up.

"Don't just sit there. Come help us," Caroline said, setting the bags down.

"There's more?" Stefan asked, staring down at the fifteen or more bags they'd already carried into the house. Caroline and Bonnie just laughed before walking out to the car, pulling another handful of bag handles out and walking into the house. Leaving the three boys standing looking at the overloaded car in disbelief.

"You were only gone for five hours, how did you possibly buy this much?" Jeremy asked, dropping a few more bags into the pile.

"There's still more coming. We couldn't fit all of the things from the home stores in the car so they are being delivered tomorrow," Caroline said with a smile, making another trip in the house. Bonnie followed her inside as Jeremy, Stefan, and Damon begrudgingly began to carry in the rest of the girl's purchases.

Once inside, Caroline and Bonnie began to go through the hundred or more shopping bags, dividing everything up between the five of them.

Damon looked at the gigantic pile of clothes and shook his head with a slight chuckle. "I don't even want to know," he said, flopping back down on the couch with his drink in hand, turning his attention back to the football game Jeremy had turned on. He was taken by surprise as something hit him in the face. He pulled the bag away, shooting an annoyed expression at Caroline, who was smiling happily, before he opened the bag and looked inside.

"I thought you might want another one to brood around in," she said, with a smile before turning her attention back to the sorting she was doing.

Damon watched her and Bonnie decide which grey t-shirts would go to Jeremy and which ones would go to Stefan, chuckling slightly at their horrible fashion senses. In a hundred and fifty years, he'd learned how to dress and judging by the contents of the bag that Caroline had so lovingly chucked at his head, she knew what he liked too. He nodded in approval as he pulled the leather jacket from the bag.

Later on that evening, the five of them sat down to talk. They had a few decisions to make and they needed to be made together, regardless of how reluctant some members were to powwow with everyone else.

"School?" Bonnie asked, looking around the table. Stefan and Jeremy both nodded while Caroline and Damon laughed.

"I couldn't pass for high school age when I was in high school," Damon said with a smirk, biting back a laugh.

"You couldn't pay me to go back. Falsify my diploma. I don't care. I'm not going back to school if I don't have to. I can pass for early twenties. I will not go back to school," Caroline said, shaking her head vehemently. She stopped to take a sip of her wine. One of her favorite things about being a vampire was being able to decide how old she was going to be any given day. She wasn't about to let anyone take that away from her and send her back to high school.

"Okay, I think Caroline can probably get away with not being enrolled," Stefan said, "and as comical as I think it would be to watch you try to get through high school again, it's probably not realistic." He smirked, causing Damon to roll his eyes daftly.

"Oh fun. I get to play legal guardian again," Damon sang, his words laced with sarcasm and annoyance.

"I'll do it," Caroline volunteered quickly, sitting up giddily in her seat. "I wanna do it. I can be in charge of Bonnie, Jeremy, and Stefan." She smiled all too happily as her hands clapped slightly.

"I'm eighteen. No one needs to be in charge of me," Bonnie pointed out quickly.

Stefan looked at Damon, waiting to see if there would be any argument. Both men shrugged and nodded in agreement.

"If she wants to play mommy to the lot of you I'm not going to stop her. I've been pretending to be your legal guardian for a century now, let someone else get called to the principal's office when your asses get in trouble for something," Damon said, kicking his feet up on the table. Bonnie made a face before pushing them off.

"We eat here, you mongrel," she spoke through gritted teeth. Damon chuckled at her annoyance, quickly quieting when her face began to sport a look similar to the one she wore when she was about to mess with his head.

Stefan was about to bring up the next logistics of Caroline being the legal guardian when something caught his attention on the television. He immediately tuned out Bonnie and Damon's bickering, standing from his seat and walking over to the living room. He picked up the remote turning up the television as he watched a reporter from World News Tonight walk around the charred remains of their former home. He had assumed the story would make the local news maybe even the big markets in the area, D.C. and Richmond, but he'd never expected it to make national news. His gaze wavered as he realized he wasn't the only one watching. All five of them were gathered around the television watching, just in time to see Liz Forbes talk about the loss of her daughter and the loss to the town.

Caroline scoffed at the TV through her tears. It wasn't seeing her mother that made her cry, it was the blatant insincerity of her voice when she spoke of how broken up she was about her daughter's death. She spoke with detached clinicalness, peppering in fake tears and the occasion voice quiver as she knew she _should_ be sad over her daughter's death. Unfortunately, Liz had mourned the death of her daughter months prior when she was still living. Those months she could've been spending with her daughter, she'd never get back. She rolled her eyes when she heard the reporter make mention of her father being unavailable for comment. Her dad hadn't been around when she was alive, why would she expect any less after her "death". Just a free pass for him to keep gallivanting around the country with Steven and pretending he didn't have a daughter. The blonde's heart didn't break until she saw the next pair being interviewed.

"_We just never imagined something like this would e-ever happen. W-we just can't believe we lost them both, lost all of them. They were all our family_," Jenna barely choked out through a cascade of tears. Alaric was trying to remain stoic, but the tears thinly veiled under his eyelashes spoke for themselves as he pulled Jenna into a tight embrace just in time for her to descend into sobs. Caroline and Bonnie were clinging to each other just as tightly as Jenna cling to Alaric. Even Jeremy swallowed thickly before moving to comfort the girls.

Stefan took a heavy breath allowing the girl's to calm down before making any moves to speak. He looked at the three of them, ignoring Damon behind him. "This is the worst of it," he spoke knowingly. "It can't get any worse than this. This is the end for them, the peak of their mourning, they'll start to move on now." He knew from experience, death was something he knew, something he understood. Mourning came with the territory.

Both girls nodded.

"I think we're just going to get some sleep," Bonnie said, staring at the floor at Jeremy led her back into their bedroom, leaving Caroline alone in the living room with the two brothers. Her eyes closed tightly, wiping away a few tears.

"Caroli-"

"I'm fine, Damon," she snapped, feeling guilty immediately afterwards. She shook her head before turning to him, "I'm sorry, I think I'm just going to go to sleep as well." And with that small explanation she and Damon were both satisfied and she walked into her bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Three – Disappear**

_I know you have dreams, don't hold them inside. Take hold of your heart and open it wide. I know you have fears, just push them aside. You'll never feel love if you never try. Who told you that you've got to run? What inspires this fear? When I show you something real, please don't disappear, don't disappear._

"So where are you going?" Caroline asked Bonnie as she sat on the girl's bed. Watching her get ready for her date with Jeremy.

"We're going to dinner at some place on the pier. It's supposed to be beautiful," she said with a smile. Her fingers slid through her dark curls, separating them once she'd finished fixing the out of place curls. "It'll be nice. Jeremy and I haven't been on a date since before everything happened. I cannot wait to just spend some time alone with him. Time where no one can hear us. I love you all, but living with vampires is not easy on one's relationship. Especially not sex when I know you three can hear everything no matter how quiet we are."

Caroline chuckled, "I can't speak for Stefan and Damon but I know when I started to hear the breathy whispers, I shove my iPod in my ears and pull the pillow over my head. I have no desire, whatsoever, to hear you and Jeremy doing the nasty," she said, making a face.

"Neither do I," Damon called out from the living room, thus proving Bonnie's point.

Bonnie tensed momentarily, rolling her eyes at Damon's comment before forcing herself to relax. She lifted her dress from the bed next to Caroline, stepping into it the cotton, pulling the straps up over her shoulders. She refused to let Damon or anyone else for that matter ruin her perfect date night with Jeremy. "Do I look okay?" Bonnie asked, smoothing the skirt of her dress down, twirling around for Caroline to see it from all sides.

"You look perfect, as always, Bon. I don't know why you would expect anything less. You constantly look perfect," Caroline said with a cheery smile. She stood from the bed, adjusting her twisted, tight, black tank top back to its original state before the two girls exited the room. She smiled adoringly as Jeremy told Bonnie how beautiful she looked and kissed her. She waved as the two of them left the house.

Caroline looked around before dropping down onto the couch next to Damon. She wasn't thrilled with the idea of spending the evening at home, but she could deal with it. "Where did Stefan run off to?" She asked, wondering how exactly she'd found herself alone with Damon on a Saturday night.

"He said he was going out to look for other vamps with the compass. He's trying to get more information on Jeremiah," Damon spoke, his eyes unmoved from the hockey game he'd somehow gotten sucked into.

"Oh?" she asked, "You didn't go with him? I thought you loved that kind of stuff. The investigating and stalking. I thought it was your thing, all dark and broody." She smirked, earning herself an eye roll.

"I would've if that's what he was actually doing," Damon said, glancing over at Caroline, who was looking at him with a quizzical stare. "You don't spend a century and a half with someone without figuring out they're tells and knowing when their lying. He just wants to be alone away from here to deal with Elena's death. He likes to brood in private." He added, not letting his concern for his brother bubble to the surface completely.

Caroline nodded, watching Damon for a moment before flicking her eyes back to the TV, "There's a Dexter marathon on Showtime. We should watch that. I love that show," She announced, growing bored of the sporting game quickly, eager to change the channel to something she was more apt to enjoy. She was even courteous enough to suggest something she thought he might enjoy as well. It was her new attitude; she planned to keep the peace between everyone.

"Nah, I want to see how this game ends. Go start in your room, maybe I'll join you after," he wiggled his eyebrows, earning an eye roll from Caroline.

The blonde pushed herself up from the couch. She walked into the kitchen, collecting a bag of blood and a few snacks before retreating into her room. Turning on her television, she changed it to the correct station, settling into bed with her show for the evening.

Caroline was more than surprised when Damon knocked on her door before entering her room with a six pack in one hand. She hadn't actually expected him to join her. She'd assumed he was just being cheeky. He must've picked up on her confused expression, not a few seconds later he spoke.

"I actually like this show," he said, shrugging as he made his way across the room to the opposite side of the bed from Caroline. He handed her a beer, taking one for himself before sitting down on the bed. He leaned back against the headboard, glancing over at Caroline. "I'm surprised you can stand this show, Newbie. I would have thought all of the blood would drive you a bit batty." He took a sip of his beer, glancing over at her before returning his eyes to the television show.

"Sometimes my fangs pop out, that can be a bit hard to explain, but my eyes never darken. That would be impossible to explain. I have a better handle on myself than you give me credit for," she said. "That and I can't smell it. Seeing blood doesn't do much to make me hungry at all to be honest. Only the smell of it and sometimes hearing heartbeats does it. I know that's odd." She made a face.

"Heartbeats?" he questioned, chuckling slightly. "Maybe I have underestimated you, Blondie. Never thought you would have a predatorial streak," he admitted with a slight smirk, not admitting he was a little impressed with the skill he'd had to develop, but she just innately had.

She raised an eyebrow, "Predatorial streak?" she questioned. Not entirely understanding or liking the sound of it.

"All vampires are natural predators. A natural defense to our enemies and the skills necessary to feel undetected," he said, "but the heartbeat thing is a skill most have to learn and hone. For it to come naturally to someone means they were a little dark and twisted to begin with." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.

"Are you saying that I am fucked up?" Caroline asked incredulously. She looked over at Damon with a shocked expression.

"That's where our similarities begin, Blondie. We're both a little fucked up," he said before giving a slight chuckle.

Caroline wasn't entirely sure how she felt about Damon's admission and his opinion of her. Why did everyone always think she was a fuck up? Granted it was true, but she didn't particularly enjoy being screwed up. She remained quiet for a few more minutes, stewing over his words and her feelings surrounding why she was the way she was. She finally spoke after a few moments of silence, "I wasn't always fucked up, you know?" she asked, hiding the lingering defensive tone in her voice well.

"Well, of course not, everyone was normal at one point with a few exceptions, but I'm not ready to lump you into a category with sociopaths," he said setting his empty beer bottle down on her nightstand as he waited for her to inevitably speak again.

"I know that. I just meant I remember being normal, a well-adjusted, pretty little girl. I remember what it was like before I was fucked up," she said.

"Well now, you have just piqued my interest, Blondie. Who or what fucked you up?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He rolled over, looking over at her, genuinely interested in what she has to say.

"Broad combination of things really. Starting with my parent's divorce, they fighting over who HAD to take me rather than who got to spend time with me. Neither of them actually wanted me or to spend time with me, my mom got saddled with me. My father was never around, I've seen him twice since their divorce was finalized in eighth grade. My mom was never around, daddy issues set in quickly," she sighed. She wasn't sure why she was telling him all of this, or better yet why he was listening intently, but she continued anyway, "I drank too much, although that one hasn't changed, and partied too much. Got myself into a terrifying situation with a boy or two."

Damon stopped her at those words, "Did someone hurt you, Caroline?" he asked, biting back a surge of protectiveness running through his veins. He didn't say the exact words but they both knew what he meant.

She shook her head, "He tried, really hard actually, but it didn't get that far. He was in college, I was in 9th grade. He didn't think I meant I didn't want to when I tried push him away and off me. He was drunk and his hand was halfway up my shirt when Tyler and Matt walked in and pulled him off me," She shook her head, trying to shake the unpleasant memory away, not enjoying reliving it or the weakness she'd felt in it. Being a vampire had made her detest feeling weak and empowered her to never feel that way again. She quickly reigned in the emotion that darkened her eyes before continuing, "Then you, Katherine, Matt, Tyler, Wolves, Vampires, everyone always leaving me all did the rest of the damage," she finished quickly, not wanting to dwell on her miserable existence any longer. "What about you, Damon? What fucked you up?"

He listened to recall the clearly painful memory, resisting the urge to go find the man who tried to take advantage of her and rip his throat out. Taking advantage of women was something he despised, one of the few moral lines that Damon had and stood behind. It didn't help that he had a soft spot for Caroline, probably attributed to his part in her transformation. Bringing his mind away from ripping the faceless frat boys head off and back to reality, Damon answered her question, "Katherine," he answered simply. "A month playing Katherine's mindgames is enough to do anyone in." He shrugged, reaching for another beer, which Caroline promptly took out of his hands to replace the empty one she was holding. He chuckled, shaking his head and grabbing another for himself.

"Funny how Katherine always seems to be at the root of everyone's problems," she said, shaking her head before taking a long drink from the bottle she was nursing.

"She was at the root of all the problems in the world. She probably caused global warming," he chuckled.

Caroline laughed before stopping herself, "We shouldn't talk ill of the dead."

"She'd been dead for over five hundred years, I think enough time has passed to condemn her," he smirked, his words causing Caroline to laugh again. Her laugh was infectious and Damon quickly found himself laughing with her.

**TVD**

"Shhhh," Bonnie said loudly, giggling as they made their way into the house. "Why are all the lights off? It's only eleven," she questioned as she and Jeremy made their way through the house, stumbling after having had more than one glass of wine with dinner thanks to the fake IDs they'd been supplied with. "The TV is on in Caroline's room."

"She probably fell asleep with it on," Jeremy suggested. "I wonder where the guys are."

"I'm going to go let her know we're home, I'll meet you in the bedroom," she said, leaning in to press a teasing kiss to his lips before pulling away and crossing the living room to Caroline's room. She covered her mouth to hide the smile when she saw Damon and Caroline asleep in bed together, her head on his shoulder with his arm slung casually around her. Bonnie turned the TV off before tip-toeing out of the room, closing the door behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Four – She Will Be Loved**

_Beauty queen of only eighteen. She had some trouble with herself. He was always there to help her. She always belonged to someone else. I drove for miles and miles and wound up at your door. I've had you so many times but somehow I want more. I don't mind spending everyday out on the corner in the pouring rain. Look for the girl with the broken smile, ask her if she wants to stay awhile and she will be loved. She will be loved._

When Caroline awoke, she was confused to say the least. She didn't remember falling asleep and even more so, she didn't remember how she'd become tangled in Damon's arms, his fingers rubbing gently against her lower back as he slept, and she _certainly_ didn't remember how her arm ended up wrapped around his middle. She laid there for a moment, almost letting herself enjoy the proximity of their bodies before she started to overthink. She needed to get out. She panicked, telling herself this was a bad idea. She carefully detached herself from him with vampiric precision, making sure he stayed asleep until she was far, _far_ away from here. She picked up a pair of shorts and a tank top along with her trainers, tip-toeing out of the bedroom. She jotted down a note on the counter, mostly for Bonnie, letting her know she'd gone for a run and wouldn't be back anytime soon.

Caroline changed in the bathroom and walked out of the house her key and her iPod, quickly finding a pace that pushed her, but didn't exhaust her, or at least wouldn't have if she was human. She didn't know her way around Seattle yet, she knew she would probably end up lost. She could always compel someone to take her home later, but for now she just needed to run and take herself anywhere but home. She didn't know how they'd ended up like that; tangled together in bed. She knew nothing had happened beyond sleep, but Damon had breached the wall she'd built to keep him out after everything that happened.

She stopped, leaning over the railing of one of the docks and stopped her line of thinking. As easy as it was for her to blame Damon for the confusion she was feeling now, but he had as much say in their sleeping arrangement as she did. Truthfully, the Damon she'd spent the evening with reminded her of the one she'd spent time with when she was human, the time when he wasn't compelling her, just being with her. Just the thought of that Damon, _her_ Damon coming back frightened her. It frightened her how much she craved that Damon. How much she'd be willing to be with that Damon.

Caroline kicked the metal railing she was leaning against, denting it. She winced as it hurt for a split second before it healed, emitting a low growl. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ She thought, turning back towards the sidewalk to resume her run. She refused to be sucked back into the world of Damon. It was just grief. She was grieving Elena, grieving the life she'd left behind no matter how screwed up it had been, Damon was just familiar. Damon was safe. She couldn't help, but laugh out loud at that thought; Damon was safe? Groaning internally, she mentally lectured herself. No, Damon was not the answer to her problems, more often than not he was the cause of her problems. She would ignore him, pretend the evening she'd spent wrapped up in his arms didn't happen. Avoiding him would have been a lot easier if he wasn't sleeping in her bed. She hoped that wasn't the case when she got home. She wanted to slap herself, was she honestly questioning her opinion of Damon? The walls she'd built stood for very real reasons and their purpose was to keep these feelings from happening.

Caroline decided right then and there she would be avoiding Damon until this blew over. Until she wasn't so confused and conflicted about her feelings. Until she could fire an insult back at Damon without feeling guilty.

Caroline finally found her way back to the warehouse at the end of the pier around eight o'clock that evening. Nearly twelve hours after she'd walked out the front door that morning. It had begun to rain an hour prior and the blonde was soaked to the bone when she pulled the front door, walking inside. Everyone looked up at her when she crossed the threshold, save for Damon who had his nose buried in a worn copy of _1984._

"Where have you been?" Bonnie asked, demandingly. Jeremy and Stefan both looked up at her expectantly as well, even Damon peeked up at her momentarily from behind his book, he was curious about her whereabouts after waking up alone in bed that morning.

"I went for a long run. I left a note," Caroline said, nonchalantly with a shrug before padding towards the fridge, desperate for a drink after being out all day with no blood source.

"Yeah, you left twelve hours ago. I know you like to run, but twelve hours?" Bonnie asked.

"I was just running and exploring the city. I need to know my way around if we are going to be here for a while," she said. "Relax, Bon. It's not like anything out there can get me."

"Caroline, I think you're forgetting why we're in Seattle in the first place," Stefan said, clearly. "No, the standard rapist, murderer, mugger, whatever isn't going to stand a chance against you, you are right about that, but there are other things out there. I'm sure Tyler isn't the only werewolf left in the entire world and then there's Jeremiah and any vampires he has under his control. You don't think they all know what you look like?"

Caroline nodded, quickly beginning to feel like a scolded child. She hadn't taken any of those things into consideration. She liked to think herself invincible these days, but leave it to Stefan to bring her back down to earth. She was starting to feel vulnerable and that was not something she wanted. Stefan's words made her not want to leave the house and that was not going to bode well for her plan to avoid Damon.

"I'm not trying to scare you, Caroline. I just want you to be away. There's a lot of things you can go up against and win, but you are not invincible," Stefan said, resting his hand on her arm.

"I know," she said, quietly. She remained quiet for a few moments before excusing herself to the bathroom to shower.

Damon knew exactly what Caroline was doing. She was avoiding something and waking up in her bed without her in it had confirmed that it was him she was trying to stay away from. The first day, he thought it was funny. The way she would go out of her way to avoid the common areas of the house amused him to no end. The lengths she would go to; have Bonnie bring her blood or subtly get Stefan to distract him when she needed to leave the house. It was all comical really. He just sat back and watched. The second day, he found it annoying. She all but ignored him when he spoke to her giving non-verbal answers or simple one word ones, before finding an excuse to vacate his presence. She disabled his attempts to rile her up and took the high road when he threw out quips. The third day, he was actually – sort of – sad about it. He missed arguing with her, he missed fighting with her, the way she would get frustrated and throw things at him when he smirked, he missed _her_.

When Damon had finally decided he'd had enough of her ignoring him, he walked into her bedroom unannounced. She was sitting at her desk, browsing through a gossip rag website, he fought the urge to roll his eyes as she turned around to look at him. "Come on, go throw on a dress and those really tall heels you like to wear," he said, letting out a sigh at her raised eyebrow. "Jeremy and Bonnie went out. Stefan is god knows where. I'm taking you out. You need to have a little fun and so do I. Maybe then you will stop ignoring me." Damon just smirked as Caroline stood from her desk, wordlessly closing her laptop, before walking over to the closet and pulling out a dress and heels. She shooed him off so she could get dressed.

Damon leaned against the counter while he waited for Caroline, straightening out his leather jacket. He bit back a groan at Caroline emerged from her bedroom, starting with the sky-high, black, platform heels, his eyes worked their way up her impossibly long legs, tucked perfectly under the skin-tight, red bandage dress and finally to her graceful features and perfectly curled blonde locks. He smirked, nodding in approval before tipping his head towards the door, "Come on, Blondie. Let's go get drunk."

Caroline scoffed at his words, rolling her eyes at him, but ultimately, closing the distance between the two of them and letting him wrap his arm around her to lead her out the door. Once outside, they walked down the busy pier until they found a lively enough bar and ducked inside. The blonde didn't miss a beat, making her way over to the bar and flirting with him just enough to get two beers before the hordes of other patrons waiting for their drinks. She walked back to Damon handing one to him.

"Compel him?" Damon asked, taking the beer from her hand.

"I don't need to compel everyone, Damon. I have breasts," she said, taking a long sip of her beer.

Damon just smirked, looking down at her low cut dress and amped up cleavage, nodding in approval. He earned himself an eye roll before wrapping his arm around her waist and dragging her out to the dance floor with him. He chuckled shaking his head as Caroline lit up like a Christmas tree, giddily telling him that this was her favorite song. Twirling her around the dance floor a few times, he smiled. He was actually enjoying himself, enjoying seeing her smile and not running off to hide in her bedroom.

Damon remained on the dance floor as Caroline went to get herself another drink, something with a little more kick according to her. Damon just laughed, she was already bordering on tipsy and that was saying something for a vampire. He danced with a few girls who flirted with him, nothing serious, he didn't even make mental notes for later. Something so very un-Damon-like, but his goal tonight was to make Caroline stop avoiding him, not meaningless sex and feedings. He glanced to the bar when he realized she'd been gone for a while, longer than it took for a beautiful girl to get a drink. He saw the back of her head; one hand toying with the hem of her dress, a surefire sign Caroline was annoyed, especially when accompanied by unwelcomed male advances. Seeing Caroline being hit on was something Damon was used to, quite a common occurrence when friends with someone as beautiful as the blonde, but this time was different. His eyes flickered as he made his way from the dance floor to the bar, he was jealous and territorial and it was showing. He calmed himself down before approaching the situation, snaking an arm around Caroline's waist, surprising her. She caught on quickly, sliding her hand over top of Damon's around her waist, holding in a smirk when she saw the disappointment spread over her suitor's face. Damon wasn't done. He looked at the man, his blue eyes flickering with compulsion. "Do you have a girlfriend?" He asked, earned a nod from the man and a scoff from Caroline. "I want you to go home and tell your girlfriend you've been out hitting on poor, innocent blondes all night and forget all about this one. Now what are you going to do?"

"Go home and tell my girlfriend I've been out hitting on blondes," the man repeated in monotone.

Damon nodded, giving the man a curt smile before patting him on the shoulder as he left. He smirked at Caroline as she turned around, lifting her drink from the counter and giving it a drink, making a face, "Blondie, this is strong by _my _standards." He chuckled.

"That guy ordered it for me. He was trying to get me drunk. Little did he know, I am already tipsy and I could outdrink him any day of the week," she said, grinning. "You love that compulsion thing a little too much, Damon. Have fun?"

"Of course. Always do."

"Good. I like when you play protector, it's hot," she said with a smile, her tongue darting out to lick her lips softly. The alcohol had significantly lowered her brain to mouth filter and she was aware, she knew tonight would be trouble. Leaning in until her lips almost touched his ear, she began to whisper, "Can we go home now?"

Damon raised an eyebrow, chuckling at her tipsiness. "Yes, let's get you home, Boozy." He wrapped his arm around her waist tighter as they began to walk, imagining the sky high heels weren't going to help her already shaking balance.

"Hey, I'm not Boozy. I am not that drunk, Damon. I'm just tipsy. My mind is clear as crystal, I just can't walk," Caroline said with a giggle, leaning against Damon more than she needed to. She squealed when Damon lifted her up, sick of watching her stumble no doubt, and began to walk down the street with her. She wrapped her arm loosely around his neck as they walked down the pier and into the house, noting quickly that they were the only ones home still.

Damon set Caroline down when she got into the house, only letting go of her when he was sure she was firm on her feet. He was a little confused when she didn't let go out him right away, even more so when she pressed her lips against his. Caught off guard, he found his bearings and returned her kiss, deepening it selfishly. He'd been wanting to do this since the other night, but for once he didn't want to mess with the awkward balance their household had fallen into. It wasn't until Caroline, began to tug at the buttons of his shirt, he pulled away from her. He looked down with some concern into her blue eyes, "What are you doing, Car? You are drunk," he stated clearly, knowing everyone would have his head on a platter if he took advantage of Caroline's inebriated state with Bonnie leading the charge. Regardless of his intentions being more than a one night stand or sex between friends.

"I'm kissing you. I'm not that drunk, Damon. I'm not even slurring my words," she said with perfect diction. "Don't tell me you haven't been wanting to do it all night.." she trailed off, her fingers running down the zipper on the back of her dress. "Or longer." She smirked as the now-undone dress fell to the floor showing him her perfect figure wrapped tightly in a black strapless bra and matching, lace boyshorts. She frowned at the hesitation still lacing his face. "Damon, I'm not drunk. I want to do this, don't make me ask again," she said, her hand on her lace-clad hip.

The classic Caroline attitude was all he needed to see in order to believe that she wasn't drunk. He didn't make her ask again, he simply closed the distance between the two of them, pressing his lips to hers instantly. He wrapped one arm around her, his other hand traveled softly down her side, catching on her thigh as he lifted her against him.

Caroline's legs wrapped instinctively around Damon's waist when he lifted her while her finger tips threaded the buttons of his shirt back through their holes. She groaned into the kiss as he backed her into a wall, pressing his now bare chest against hers. "Bedroom, please?" she asked in a mumble against his lips. Happy when he complied, taking her into his bedroom and kicking the bedroom door shut behind them.

**A/N: I know that was the most teasing place to leave off, but I promise a full blown lemon in the next chapter, but it won't be picking up here. Sorry…**

**Please Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Five – With Me**

_I don't want this moment to ever end where everything's nothing without you. I'll wait here forever just to, to see you smile, cause it's true. I am nothing without you. I want you to know. With everything I won't let this go. These words are my heart and soul. I'll hold on to this moment you know. As I bleed my heart out to show and I won't let go._

**Six Months Later**

"Mmm, say it again, Damon," Caroline requested, brushing her lips along Damon's jaw as her clothed hips fitted to his.

Damon smirked up at her for a few moments before flipping her over and pinning her wrists to the bed gently, "Why are you so insistent on me saying it again, Blondie?" he asked before leaning down to press a slow kiss to her lips.

"I just like hearing you say it," she said, darting her tongue out to wet her lips when he pulled away from the kiss. She groaned as he dropped his hold on one of her wrists to trail his fingertips down her body, trailing them until her pantyline where he toyed with the lace.

Damon brushed his lips over her neck. Teasing her further, he sucked on her pulse point, marking her skin. His lips hovered over her ear, smirking at the groan he'd earned, "I love you, Caroline," he murmured softly, dipping his fingers into the lace and ghosting them over her entrance.

Caroline let out a small gasp, "I love you, too." Her fingers intertwined with his free hand, squeezing it as his hand worked against her. His fingers looped around the lace, dragging her panties down her legs as solely as possible. Her hips moved instinctively towers his hand, drawing a stifled chuckle from Damon before he dipped one long finger into her core. She closed her eyes as he added a second, curling and scissoring them against her walls.

Damon couldn't help but smirk at his girlfriend. He loved her all the time but he especially loved her like this. Times when she was waning and twisting underneath him, reacting to the slightest twinge of his fingers or twist of his hips. He could play her body like a harp, knowing a quick flick of his tongue over her clit would elicit a sharp, breathy gasp, whereas a long, flat stroke would earn him a low groan. Caroline had a million combinations and Damon knew them all.

Deciding he had teased her enough, Damon withdrew his fingers. He smirked when she whined his name, hushing her with a kiss as he lifted her hips, thrusting into her quickly. He grunted in approval when she pulsed perfectly around him, pushing him to give her even more. Caroline found her bearings and flipped the two of them over so she was on top, sinking her hips onto his again quickly. Damon sat up instantly, wrapping his arms around her middle, one hand sliding up to unclasp her bra, tossing it to the side just in time to hit Stefan in the face when he walked into the room.

"Oh my gosh, Stefan!" Caroline squealed, scrambling to pull the covers up around the two of them as she pressing her bare chest against Damon's to conceal herself from Stefan's view, "Knock much?" she growled.

Stefan wore a smirk matching Damon's, scratching the back of his neck as he chuckled awkwardly. "I just came to tell you I was home from the blood bank and the fridge is restocked," he said, shaking his head as he backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. Damon shook his head, laughing in a way that made his relation to Stefan undeniable.

"So not funny," Caroline said with a glare.

"Oh I'm about to make you forget all about St. Stefan barging in here," Damon said, drawing shapes with his fingertips along her sides as his hands made their way down them. His words raised Caroline's eyebrow and e had every intention of wiping the expression from her face. His feather light touches turned to an iron grip on her hips as he flipped her onto the bed.

Caroline moaned, suddenly finding herself on her back. Her hand grabbed at Damon's dark locks as he found a quick and erratic pace. Lips finding his quickly, she reclaimed his, twisting her tongue with is, beginning their ever going battle for dominance within the kiss. She hissed as his thumbs dug into her hips, bringing them to his at an inhuman speed. "Faster, Damon," she groaned against his lips.

Damon was all too happy to oblige, trailing his lips down her neck to tease her before he found a quicker rhythm. Caroline squirmed and arched under him, releasing her own string of moans and gasps, all egging him to go even quicker. He moved his hand up her body, palming her breast, he rolled the delicate peek between his fingertips. He dropped his mouth to tease the other. He paced accordingly, slowing whenever her breath became increasingly erratic. Sex was a game for him, all about the give and take. He would bring her to the edge and pull back just enough to keep her there. He enjoyed it; relishing in the look of pure desperation and pleasure mixing on her face, feeding off the whines and loss of focus that often accompanied it. Then, when he couldn't take it anymore, he'd give her exactly what she wanted and then some. Moving in her until she lit off like a firecracker underneath him, until she was a shivering, moaning mass yelling out his name, much to Bonnie's displeasure.

"Can we just stay here in bed and do that all day?" Caroline asked, her breath hitching as Damon continued to trace a small circle around her clit as she tried to come down from her first orgasm.

"Trust me when I say I have no intention of letting you leave this bed," Damon said with absolute certainty. He smirked at her momentarily before brushing his thumb roughly over her all-too sensitive clit, drawing a gasp from his girlfriend's lips. Working his fingers over her body, he started kissing down her chest, tracing his tongue over her abdomen, making Caroline positively shiver with anticipation. He sunk two fingers into her abruptly, blowing on the sensitive bundle of nerves and watching her back arch in reaction. He began to play his favorite game, running his tongue flatly over the bud before flicking it with the tip of his tongue.

Caroline was putty in Damon's hands, her hips twisting and tilting, trying to get more of him. She gasped, fingers grasping at the sheets as Damon attached his lips to her clit, sucking mercilessly. Her hips dug into the mattress as she writhed, one hand reaching down for a handful of his dark hair in a desperate attempt to keep him where he was.

"Damon!" she yelped, her world beginning to crash as her walls caved violently around his fingers. "Fuck!" she moaned, her breath shallow and uneven as Damon continued his assault on her senses. She pulled the covers over herself and Damon as her door flew open once again. "Do none of you k-know how to kn-knock?" Caroline stuttered over her words as she tried to tilt her hips away from Damon, who was continuing his stimulation despite Bonnie being in the room.

"Do you ever consider that there are three other people living in this house when you are screaming and hollering?" Bonnie all but hissed, tired of hearing the happy couple's noises. Caroline could hear Damon snickering from under the covers. She tried to pull Damon away, but he wouldn't budge, adding another finger in retaliation.

Caroline bit her lip, holding in the groan that was forming in her throat. "Sorry, Bon. I'll try to keep it d-down," she struggled through the sentence, growing closer and closer.

"You two are disgusting," Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Whenever you finish with your…sex-athon, I need you for some wedding stuff," Bonnie backed out of the room, closing the door behind her.

The second the door clicked closed, Caroline tilted her hips into his hands, biting hard at her lip to keep from screaming as she fell over the edge. Damon slowly made his way back up her body, brushing his lips over each delicate inch of flesh, before planting a tender kiss to her lips.

"How you feelin', Blondie?" he asked quietly, a smirk playing on his lips as he brushed his fingers across her cheek.

"I love you," she murmured quietly, still trembling from her finishes.

"I love you, too," Damon said, pressing his lips to hers again. He pulled her against his chest, holding her tightly as she tried to come down from her post orgasmic high. He just smirked to himself, pressing a small kiss to her temple as her blue eyes fluttered closed and she drifted to sleep.

_ She wasn't sure how she found herself here, but there she was again, running through the forest by the old Lockwood Mansion. Running for her life, for everyone she'd ever loved. Caroline could hear Jeremiah growling and snarling behind her. She threw down everything in her path, trying desperately to slow him down. She found her way back to the boarding house, she bolded inside, slamming the door behind her. Elena owned it; he couldn't get in if he tried. _

_ "Is everything set?" Caroline asked. Stefan and Elena both nodded in response. _

_ "This had better work," Damon said, in irritation._

_ "What had better work?" Katherine asked, a smirk playing on her face as she walked in the front door, hands on her hips. Caroline stared at her in disbelief. This wasn't part of the plane, she shouldn't be here. Then she smelled it, something was burning._

"Please don't kill me!" Caroline yelped, bolting straight up in bed. Damon tried to pull her in close, looking at her with an alarmed expression. She pulled away at first before waking up more and falling against him. Pulling her knees to her chest, she buried her face against Damon's neck.

Damon knew exactly what had happened. Caroline didn't have the nightmare every night, but she had it frequent enough to concern him. He pulled her closer to him, stroking her hair gently in an effort to calm her. "Nobody is going to kill you, okay?" he whispered against her ear.

Caroline pulled away looking up at him, a few tears running down her face. "He's never going to stop. We killed the woman that he loves, not to mention half of his team. He blames me more than anyone. He's not going to stop until there's a stake through my heart."

"I will never let that happen," he murmured, pulling her closer. They laid there for a while, Damon rubbing soothing circles onto Caroline's back until she calmed down. Once she did, he reluctantly let her out of bed to go speak to Bonnie.

"Alright, Bon. What do we need to do?" Caroline asked as she walked out of her bedroom, still pulling the blouse into place as she leaned against the kitchen counter.

"We just need to look through some wedding things. I need your opinion. You are my best friend and I'm only going to do this once, I want everything to be perfect. You guys are the only family I have. It's not like I can invite anyone from Mystic Falls," Bonnie said.

Caroline couldn't help, but detect a little sadness in Bonnie's voice. She pulled her best friend into a tight hug. "Bonnie, everything _is_ going to be perfect. This is going to be a small wedding, yes, but it is going to be beautiful and you are going to be Mrs. Bonnie Gilbert, Hoyt, whatever. You will be Jeremy's wife and that's all that matters," she said, cupping Bonnie's face.

"I love you, Care," Bonnie said, hugging her tightly.

"Okay, so what do we need to look at?" Caroline asked cheerfully, trying to lighten to mood for Bonnie. When it came to everything they'd left behind, Caroline had shut off her emotions. She didn't think about it, refused to talk about it. She liked to pretend it didn't happen, that being with Bonnie, Jeremy, Stefan, and Damon was how it had always been. It was easier that way. Her life was better now than it had been before. She and Bonnie were closer than ever. She had Jeremy and Stefan, the brothers she'd always wanted. Best of all, she had Damon; the man who loved her more than anything in the world. The one she'd never be second best for.

"You know, if you had told me a few months ago that I was going to be living with the four of you and marrying Jeremy right after graduation, I would've laughed at you," Bonnie said with a laugh before taking another sip of her wine. She and Caroline were on their second bottle, picking through wedding magazines and deciding which dresses and veils they liked best. Thankful, with the boys having gone out for a drink, they had the house to themselves for once.

"If you had told me I was going to be happily dating Damon a few months ago, I would've hit you," Caroline laughed, pouring herself another glass. "We need to find someone for Stefan. I feel bad he's trapped in this house alone with two happy couples. I'm sure that makes losing Elena that much worse." She frowned. She was worried about him. He was always mopey and broody, but it seemed especially bad these days. Caroline just wanted to see everyone in her life happy. She just wished she knew what it would take to make that happen.

**A/N: So as promised, Lemon! I hope it lived up to all of your expectations. We're slowly going to start piecing together the mystery of Jeremiah and what exactly happened that night at the boarding house. So yes, Caroline and Damon are together, but this story is far from over. Please Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Six – Skinny Love**

_I told you to be patient. I told you to be fine. I told you to be balanced and I told you to be kind. In the morning I'll be with you, but it will be a different kind. I'll be holding all the tickets and you'll be owing all the fines. Now all your love is wasted then who the hell was I? Cause now I'm breaking at the britches and at the end of all your lines._

"Barbie, don't make me do this. I cannot be one of those whipped boyfriends," Damon whined as Caroline pulled him into yet another store. He already had an arm of Caroline's shopping bags. When he suggested they go out for the afternoon, he had meant dinner and drinks, he may have even taking her dancing afterwards, just to see her smile, but an afternoon of shopping was not what he had in mind. He rolled his eyes as she interlaced her fingers with his.

"It's not that bad, Damon. Besides, it's not all shopping, we're going to have a little fun too," she said, taking the sides of his leather jacket as she leaned in to kiss him. Returning her hand to his, she pulled him towards the dressing room with her.

"Miss, only one person in a dressing room at a time," the sale's attendant spoke with an air of annoyance as the couple tried to enter one of the dressing room together.

Caroline gave Damon a small glance before walking towards the sale's attendant. She set her hands on the woman's shoulders, locking eyes with her. "My boyfriend is going to go in the dressing room with me to help me try things on. You are going to let him and ignore anything you might hear while we're in the dressing room," she told the woman, waiting for a nod. "Perfect." She smiled, before walking back to Damon and pulling him into the dressing room with him.

"Can I just say how happy I am that you mastered compulsion," Damon murmured.

"Oh, just stop talking and take advantage of me," Caroline said with a grin.

Damon smirked, setting the shopping bags in his hand down and removing the ones in Caroline's. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close to him, closing all the distance between the two of them as he pressed his lips to hers roughly. His fingers trailed down her sides, catching on the underside of her thighs as he brought her hips up to his, wrapping her legs around him as he impatiently pushed her dress up her legs. His fingers dressed into her porcelain skin as she reached between the two of them to unbuckle his belt. This was exactly what he needed to get through the rest of this godforsaken shopping trip. He positioned himself guiding his hips to hers as he received a strangled moan in return. Setting a slow, but deep pace, Damon worked his hips against Caroline's, rolling and twisting as he saw fit.

Caroline's face buried against Damon's neck as she used his skin to muffle out her cries, her back forming to the dressing room wall as Damon pushed her further back into it with each thrust. Her grip on his shoulders tightened as they continued to move. She groaned loudly, finding Damon's lips with hers, parting her lips to tangle her tongue with his. She tilted her hips, meeting his hips at an entirely new angle.

Damon grunted in response, sliding out of her fully before plunging back into her at the angle. He stumbled backwards, finding the seat in the dressing room and diving even deeper in her as he took them both down onto the chair. He bit down on her lip as she rolled her hips towards his. Taking hold of her hips, he pulled them down to his, grinding them down into his lap as he moved at a new angle. He smirked in accomplishment when her head tilted back and her walls clenched around him. Not missing a beat, Damon continued his motion, hissing with each jerk of his own hips as he found his own finish.

"Remind me to go shopping with you more often, Blondie," Damon mused, his fingers still tangled in the blonde's long hair as he pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of her nose. He held her close for a few more moments as they both tried to catch their breath and calm their bodies. Standing up with Caroline, he steadied her, pressing another kiss to her lips, "Come on Beautiful, we have dinner reservations." He smiled down at her, wrapping his arm around as they walked out of the shop.

Caroline rested her head on Damon's shoulder as they walked along the pier, her arm sliding around him underneath his leather jacket. She wasn't sure why their relationship worked and truthfully, she didn't care. This was the one area of her life she let her neurosis take a rest and she didn't try to overanalyze. She just let it be what it was and what it was was effortless. She felt safe with him, comfortable. Damon not only made her feel like herself, but he made her feel like she was worth picking. She was second choice no longer, to him, she would always be number one and he made sure she knew every chance he got. After everything that had happened in Caroline's life, she was happy, simply happy, and she couldn't ask for anything else.

**TVD**

"Stefan, I think we need to talk," Bonnie said, looking at the vampire after Jeremy had left the room for a shower.

"What's up, Bonnie?" he asked, setting the book he was leafing through down on the end table.

Bonnie looked down the couch at him. She didn't particularly want to bring the subject up, but it needed to be addressed before anyone aside from her noticed. She didn't like seeing him like this, lonely and miserable. She, like everyone else in the house, just wanted him to be happy, but the behavior he had been exhibiting was not the way for him to be happy and deep down she thought he knew that. Hoping that a little push in the right direction would help him see that, Bonnie took a breath and began to speak, "Stefan, I see the way you look at Caroline when you think no one is looking." She spoke in a soft, reassuring manor, trying not to be accusatory.

"Bon, I don't-" Stefan stopped. He thought about denying it, but he knew it was no use. He hung his head, nodding slightly. He finally looked back up at Bonnie after a few moments. "Well, clearly I'm not doing a good job of only doing it when no one is looking," he said, running a nervous hand through his hair.

"Stef, we all want you to be happy, but going after Caroline isn't going to make you happy. It's going to do the opposite. Even if you got her, you would be breaking your brother's and Caroline's hearts in the process and I know you care about both of them," she spoke, setting a hand on his shoulder.

"You think I'd get her?" he questioned her words before shaking it off, "I love her Bonnie. I don't know when it happened, but I do and I hate seeing her with Damon. It drives me mad, that's why I leave so often. I think it started before Elena died," he admitted. "I know I could make her happier than he does."

"Caroline loves Damon, Stefan. She's in love with him. I don't understand it, but she is and this is the happiest I've ever seen her. She, the girl who always felt like she was second place, fell in love with the boy who never thought he was good enough and they are happy together. You don't want to screw up that happiness for them."

"No, I don't, but I don't know how to stop feeling this either. I don't know how to turn it off anymore. I used to be able to shut it down. I could shut all the emotions off and I can't find that switch anymore."

**TVD**

"So what do you think is going to happen now? Things have settled down a bit, Bonnie and Jeremy are getting married, do you think we're all going to stay together?" Caroline asked after they sat down at their table. The restaurant Damon had picked out was right on the water, giving them a perfect view of everything in the city. She took a sip of the wine glass sitting on the table in front of her as Damon thought about her question. She was thankful for the ID she'd been given; Caroline _Wells_ was a twenty-two year old, Washingtonian and Caroline was thankful to be of age.

"I don't know, it's really up to Witchy and the kid. If they want to stay with us, I'm not opposed," Damon admitted, "I enjoy teasing her daily. Plus, I finally got the impression of Bonnie's sex screaming down, I would hate for that to go to waste." He grinned, earning a small kick underneath the table from Caroline.

"You would miss them if they left, just admit it," she said with a small smile, growing every moment it took for him to deny it. "We need to find someone for Stefan. I don't like seeing him so sad all the time. It has to be hard for him to see us content and Bonnie and Jeremy are getting married, he just wants someone too." Caroline frowned. Stefan was one of her best friends, her brother almost; it hurt her to see him so mopey. Stefan didn't fare well outside of a relationship and she knew to fully get over Elena, he needed to start dating again.

"The goal is to be avoiding other vampires, not to go track one down to bring home for my little brother," he said, sighing when Caroline narrowed at her eyes. "I'm sorry, but your safety is my number one priority. Stefan's love life can wait and I'm one hundred percent sure he would agree with me. I'm not going to risk tracking down vampires and having one of them work for Jeremiah. When St. Stefan is ready to date, he will. He doesn't need help. He never has. He also doesn't have a problem dating humans so I don't see what the big deal is. He'll be fine, Care." He tried to reassure her, not sure how much it was working.

"I know, I know. I just hate seeing him so miserable," she said, pouting slightly. Reaching forward, she picked up her wine glass once again, taking a long sip. "I just want him to be as happy as we are."

"I know you do. You care way too much about everyone. It's one of the reasons we work so well, you compensate for the feelings I lack," he said with a laugh.

"You care about your brother, you are just too stubborn to admit it sometimes," she said with a laugh.

"Maybe a little." He smirked, laughing a hundred dollar bill in the billfold when the waitress brought it over to him. "Keep the change," he said, standing up from the table. He reached a hand down to help Caroline up, which she gladly took. He led her out of the restaurant, wrapping an arm securely around her shoulders, dropping a kiss to her temple. "Let's walk around for a little bit, you look too beautiful not to show off tonight."

"You are being uncharacteristically sweet tonight," she said, sliding her hand into his, intertwining their fingers. "Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?" she teased.

Damon just rolled his eyes, pulling her closer to him as they walked down the pier area. He glanced around as he usually did. He always kept an eye out. Part of him blamed himself for what happened with Elena and Katherine. Katherine, sure, he would let her die, hell he'd kill her any day of the week if it meant keeping everyone safe, but Elena had taken it upon herself to do it. He promised himself and Caroline that he would never let anything happen to her and he intended to do everything in his power to make sure nothing ever did.

Taking a final glance around, Damon saw her, one of Jeremiah's witches or at least someone who looked an awful lot like one. He wrapped his arm tighter around Caroline, swiftly ducking behind a building. He looked around the corner and saw the woman walking away in the other direction. He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding, quickly pulling Caroline further from sight.

"If you wanted to have a quickie, all you had to-" Caroline's words were silenced by Damon's finger pressed to her lips.

He leaned in close, holding her shoulders as he began to speak to her, "I just saw one of Jeremiah's witches or at least a woman who looked very similar to one." He was calm, but purposeful. The fear in Caroline's eyes was evident. His hands traveled up, cupping her cheeks gently. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you or Bonnie. Nothing. I would die before I let someone hurt you," he said softly, before pressing his lips to her forehead. She just nodded, pulling closer to him as he held her tight to his side. He walked with her back towards the corner of the building and looked around. Damon seriously considered killing her and tossing her into Puget Sound, but he knew if Jeremiah didn't already know they were in Seattle, he would when his witch didn't return. Zoning in until he found the witch with his eyes, he watched her for the better part of an hour until she hailed herself a cab and left. He nodded to Caroline and the two of them got into a cab headed back to the industrial wharf.'

Caroline's nerves were shattered to say the least. By the time they got back to the house she was clinging to Damon, trying to feel some semblance of safety. She knew he was trying to calm her, but it wasn't working. If it really was Jeremiah's witch they'd spotted earlier, she wasn't seeing any hope for herself. They had run, put an entire country between them and the vengeful vampire, done a damn good job at covering their tracks, and yet they still were able to find them. Her unnecessary breaths were beginning to hitch as Damon walked into the house with her.

Stefan greeted the happy couple with a smile, but as soon as he saw Damon's vice grip on a terrified looking Caroline his expression fell completely, "What happened?" he asked, his voice laced with genuine concern. His question raised the attention of Bonnie and Jeremy, who both left their place on the couch to come over and see what was going on in the kitchen. Bonnie's attention was immediately caught by her blonde best friend.

"They found us," was all Caroline managed to force out before burying herself in Bonnie's arms. Bonnie closed her eyes, pressing her own face to Caroline's shoulder as the two best friends clung to each other. Jeremy and Stefan looked to Damon to further elaborate once they realized Caroline was no longer in a position to speak further on the subject.

"We were at the pier when we saw someone, a woman who looked exactly like one of Jeremiah's witches. I'm nearly a hundred percent sure it was her. She didn't see us though. I got Care into an alley before the witch made any moves. I watched her looking around for a good hour, but she didn't appear to see what she was looking for, then she left and I got her back here," Damon explained slowly, one hand still rubbing his girlfriend's back, toying with the ends of her blonde curls in an effort to soothe her.

"How the hell could they have found us?" Jeremy asked, running a nervous hand through his hair.

"If the witch is more powerful than Bonnie, they could override the protection spell she used and use the location spell," Stefan pointed out in frustration, "or maybe we just slipped up somewhere. Forgot to cover a footprint. I don't know, but we need to move."

"Move where?" Bonnie asked, now sporting the same terrified expression Caroline wore. The two girls were still clinging to each other but both wanted to be involved in this discussion.

"I don't know. Far, far away from here," Stefan said, looking between the two girls.

"Vancouver?" Jeremy suggested, "Its far enough from here that it would break the connection, but they'd never expect us to move so close. I'm sure they know where going to run, they are going to be staking out New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Mexico, maybe even Europe. The furthest places from where we are now. They would never suspect that we would just cross the border."

"Vancouver it is," Damon said. "They clearly don't know names or where we live, otherwise they'd be here already. Everyone just get some sleep, we will clear the place out tomorrow and then leave. Tomorrow will be a long day. Just try to sleep." He wrapped his arms tightly around Caroline when Bonnie finally detangled herself from the blonde. He quickly led her into their bedroom, locking the door behind him. He pulled her into bed with him, pulling the covers up over the two of them as Caroline hid herself against his body, whimpering every so often.

"Maybe if I just go find him and turn myself over, let him kill me, he won't hurt the rest of you," Caroline finally spoke after what seemed like an eternity of silence.

"Don't even think about it, Blondie," Damon said sternly. He was almost hurt by her words. He knew they came from a good place. A place of wanting to protect him and her family, but the idea of losing her made him want to stake himself. He probably would if something happened to her. The downfall of vampire emotions, if he lost her, he wouldn't have the will to keep living.

"I just don't want anyone dying because of me, it's not fair," she stated clearly.

"Life isn't fair," Damon said, brushing the hair off her forehead. "I would choose your life over anyone in this entire planet. I know that sounds selfish and irresponsible, but it's the truth. I will always do everything in my power to keep you safe. To keep everyone in this house safe. It's just the way I am now, now that I have you."

"I love you," she said simply, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I love you, too," he murmured soothingly, dropping a kiss to the top of her. He was content when she seemed to fall asleep in his arms.

_ Caroline slammed the door to the boarding house closed, her breath ragged and labored. She tucked a blonde curl behind her ear and looked up, "Is everything set?" she asked. Stefan and Elena both nodded in response. _

_ "This had better work," Damon said, in irritation._

_ "What had better work?" Katherine asked, a smirk playing on her face as she walked in the front door, hands on her hips. Caroline stared at her in disbelief. This wasn't part of the plane, she shouldn't be here. Then she smelled it, something was burning. She knew she wasn't the only one who smelled it, everyone else looked around._

_ "You set the house on fire?!" Elena screeched as Bonnie and Jeremy came flying down the stairs in a fit of coughs. Both of them moved to where Elena and Caroline were standing, everyone looking at Katherine with fear. She was supposed to be locked in the basement, this was not part of the plan. _

_ "I just did what I had to do," Katherine all but hissed. "Once there is no house, anyone can come in. There's no pesky rule about being invited into a pile of ash and rubble." She smirked in satisfaction. _

_ Caroline and Elena looked over at Damon and Stefan for some kind of confirmation. The house burning down was part of the plan, but it wasn't supposed to happen yet. _

_ "Plan B?" Stefan questioned, looking at Damon. _

_ "We don't have another fucking option," Damon hissed, back before he and Stefan both lunged at Katherine. Caroline growled, considering joining in on the fight, but she knew she had to Bonnie, Elena, and Jeremy out of the burning house. She ushered the three of them out the door. _

_ "As soon as soon as Damon and Stefan get out the door, you have to drop the barrier," Caroline told Bonnie once they were out of the house. "Once it's down, nothing will be able to get in or out of that house. Human, supernatural, alien, whatever else bad is locked up in that basement. It's all done." Bonnie nodded in agreement as the four of them watched the doorway. _

_ "Where is Jeremiah?" Jeremy asked._

_ "He's planning his next attack. He thinks Katherine and his witches are taking care of this so he can come in and finish the job later," Caroline said._

_ "The witches that are currently dead or burning alive in the cellar?" _

_ "Yes, those witches."_

_ "What happens when he finds out everyone's dead?"_

_ "We don't intend to be here to find out," Damon said as he and Stefan barreled out of the boarding house. Bonnie started on the spell to lower the barrier immediately. She was almost done when Katherine dragged herself through the door. _

_ Elena lunged forward pushing herself and Katherine back inside just as the barrier lowered. _

_ "Elena!" Bonnie and Caroline both screeched, as Bonnie started rapidly trying to lift the barrier. _

_ "Don't bother, Witchy. I know I'm going down, but I'm not going to go alone," Katherine said, through gritted teeth as she held Elena by the arms in front of her. "I had one of my witches reinstate the link before she died. Goodbye, boys." She gave them one final smirk before driving the wooden stake through her own heart. Elena gasped a final breath, blood pouring from her chest as she fell to the ground. _

**A/N: Okay, I'm sorry this took so long. Busy week. So now we know what happened, but we still don't know why. All will be revealed soon I promise. As always, reviews are like crack and greatly appreciated. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Seven – Wedding Dress**

_So we lie here in the dark__All the wrong things on fire__In sickness and in health__To be with you, just to be with you__In your wedding dress To have and to hold__'Cause even at my best__I wanna let go__And you hold me in your arms__And all that I can see__Is my future in your hands__And all that I can feel__Is how long ever after is__It's all that I can do__To be with you, just to be with you._

"Everything we're taking is packed," Caroline said with a satisfied smirk as she closed the back hatch on one of the newly purchased, black Expeditions. She had just warmed up to the Mustang when Damon and Stefan informed her that it had to go join the first SUV where no one could find it. She was more than a little frustrated with the idea that they might have been found, but she was willing to do anything to keep the people she loved safe, even if that meant giving herself over to Jeremiah if it came down to it.

"Okay. I'll see you when we get there. I love you," Damon said, leaning down to kiss a confused looking Caroline.

"You aren't driving with me?" she questioned. His kiss had pulled her out of his thoughts. She knew she could never let him know what lengths she would go to in order to protect him. He would object and it would cause a momentous fight, it was better left unsaid.

"Brother Time. You'll have more fun with Bonnie and Jeremy anyway. Their road trip music is from the same decade as yours," he said with a smirk. "It's only a three hour drive. I know you get clingy, but you'll be fine without me," he teased, ducking away from the hit he was sure to receive.

She glared at him for a moment, shaking her head. "Okay, I'll see you in Seattle. Whoever gets there first gets to choose where we christen the house," she said, pressing another kiss to his lips before running to jump into the driver's seat of the SUV. Damon rolled his eyes, watching her pull away before Bonnie had even closed the passenger's side door.

"She's in a hurry," Stefan commented as he walked out of the house.

"Barbie and her bets," Damon said with a smirk, watching the tail lights until they disappeared before turning to Stefan. "All set?" he questioned, his eyes drifting to the open door behind them. He looked into the warehouse that now looked vaguely similar to it's original state, it was weird seeing it like that. It was the only place he'd ever really felt was home, although he was sure it had more to do with Caroline than it did the warehouse.

"Isn't she getting a huge head start?" Stefan asked, bringing Damon back from his thoughts.

"Nah, I set the GPS in her SUV to avoid bridges," he said with a smirk. Stefan laughed, shaking his head as he climbed into the passenger's side of the SUV. "She's smart, she'll figure out what I did and reset the GPS pretty quick, but by then we'll have a nice head start and with my pension to speed we will win." He smirked, looking over to Stefan.

Stefan just shook his head, pushing the sunglasses over his eyes as they pulled away from the wharf for the last time. "Is she going to be okay crossing the border?" he asked.

"She's better at compelling than you are, Stef," Damon pointed out.

"I just want to make sure she is okay," Stefan countered with defensively.

"Stefan," Damon said, looking over at him, "I know." His words were ominous. He didn't bother to watch Stefan's reaction as he turned his eyes back to the road, worrying about navigating the Seattle streets.

"Kn-know?" Stefan asked. His stutter was all Damon needed to confirm that his suspicions were true. Stefan was in love with Damon's girlfriend.

"Yes, I know. I'm not blind. I see the way you stare at Caroline, the way your jaw clenches when you see me kiss her. I've known you for a hundred and seventy-two years, I know you," Damon said calmly, his grip on the wheel tightening as he spoke. He glanced over at Stefan again, seeing his words sink in. "The real question is what are you planning on doing about it? We so often find ourselves here, fawning over the same girl."

"I'm not going to do anything, Damon. Caroline loves you, she's happy. I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize that," Stefan said, hanging his head a bit. "I already talked to Bonnie about this. We've been in this position too many times and I'm not going to let it become that. I have no intentions towards Caroline other than to be her friend. I'm not going to take the one thing that makes you a decent human being away from you."

"Good," he said simply, not truly knowing how to respond other than that.

"But that doesn't mean I don't love her. And it doesn't mean I wouldn't try to make her happy if you ever fuck it up," Stefan made clear.

His words made Damon feel uncomfortable; he was wishing he'd waited to have this conversation with Stefan closer to Vancouver and not right when they left the house with two and a half hours left in the car. He said the only thing he could manage to say given the circumstances, "Good thing I don't intend on screwing anything up." The rest of the car ride was marked in silence and the occasional turning up of the radio.

Three hours later, Damon let out a sigh of relief as he finally pulled into the Vancouver pier and parked the car next to Caroline, who was standing smugly next to it waiting for him.

"I told you I'd win," she said with a smirk when Damon exited the car.

"Only because I let you," he corrected her, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"What is it with you and living in warehouses?" Bonnie asked, shrugging her purse over her shoulder as they walked towards the building, "Did you want to be a mobster before you turned or something?"

"Maybe," Damon said, before diving into the actual reasoning, "Actually, the mob did not exist when I was turned. So no, although during the mob days, I seriously considered throwing myself into the mix. The real mob though, none of this American mobster stuff. Living on the water is better. You are further away from everything and everyone, no one bothers you. Easier escape if we ever need to run again and easy way to dump the bodies if something ever happens."

"Never have you spoken more comforting words," Bonnie said, rolling her eyes as Jeremy wrapped his arm around her, the both of them walking in the house.

Damon wrapped his arm around Caroline, leading her into the house. His fingers curled around her shoulders as he veered away from the other bedrooms and began leading her up the stairs, "I felt generous when I found this place, I'm giving Judgy and the groom the master, but I have something I think you will like better for us." He winked as her before opening a door.

"You've outdone yourself, Salvatore," Caroline said as she looked around the room, marveling at all the windows and the view. "So many windows, you are finally embracing that voyeur streak aren't you?"

"Do you want to test that theory, Blondie?" he asked, sliding his hands around her waist, pressing a few small kisses to her neck.

"I would love to, but unfortunately, we need to pack," she informed him.

"You mean unpack? That can wait." He tried to pull her into bed with him, but she wouldn't budge.

"No, I mean pack," she clarified. "Bonnie and Jeremy spoke a lot on the way here. They decided with everything that has happened and the fact that all the plans on their last wedding are now null and void, they don't want to wait. So on the way here I called the travel agent and booked us on a flight to Vegas and I called the Green Valley Ranch Hotel and booked a few suites and the garden. We need to be at the airport in an hour. Bonnie is getting married tomorrow."

|TVD|

"You are really getting married tonight, Bon. Can you believe it?" Caroline asked, zipping up the back of the wedding dress Bonnie was trying on. Caroline herself was in a wedding dress as per Bonnie's request, not wanting to try them on alone. The deep red, strapless dress Caroline was wearing to the wedding hung on the door as the two women sipped champagne, trying to decide on a wedding dress for Bonnie. The young witch was heavily torn between a cap-sleeved, lace dress and the less traditional, silk, asymmetrical dress she was currently in.

"I'm having a little trouble wrapping my head around it, but it's Jeremy and I love him. I finally get to be his wife today. Being in the dress is making it feel real," she said, turning towards Bonnie.

"So this is the dress?" Caroline questioned, smiling when Bonnie nodded. "You look beautiful, honestly. Jeremy is a very lucky man."

"So is Damon, look at you, Care. You will be a flawless bride someday," she said with a smile, holding Caroline's hand as they looked in the mirror together.

Caroline smiled, running her hand down over the corset bodice of the princess style dress she was. Her fingers traced over the intricate lace design, almost letting herself get caught up in the moment before snapping back to reality. She could picture herself in this dress, the perfect dress, walking down the aisle as much as she wanted, but it would probably never happen. "That's a wonderful thought, but I'm in love with Damon. I'm lucky he's even monogamous with me, I'm not holding out for a wedding anytime soon." She gave a small, uncomfortable chuckle as she unzipped the side of her dress, sliding out of it.

"Damon's changed since you guys started seeing each other. I wouldn't start planning the wedding or anything, but maybe someday we'll be trying on dresses for you," Bonnie said, nudging Caroline once she got back into her maid of honor dress.

"Are you ready to get married, Ms. Bonnie Clements?" Caroline grinned before mouthing Bennett. "This is the last time I'm ever going to call you that. You are going to be Bonnie Hoyt in an hour." She clapped happily.

"I'm never going to get used to these last names," Bonnie whispered as they paid for the dresses and started walking back to the suite to finish getting ready.

"I don't think I will either. I think I'll always be a Forbes at heart," she said as they made it into the elevator. "I need higher heels," she commented, holding a ball of fabric in one hand, keeping the beautiful dress off the floor.

The two women quickly walked into the empty suite, Caroline had threatened all three boys with their lives if they were in the suite when they got back. She was sure Damon had probably dragged them on some semblance of a bachelor party and they were probably trying to get Jeremy drunk at a strip club. She just hoped for Bonnie's sake they weren't too drunk for the wedding. Caroline shook the thought away as she began to pull the curlers our of Bonnie's hair, letting the strands fall down in perfect curls. Caroline's hair was pulled back in a stylized ponytail with soft curls.

"I think you are ready to get married," Caroline told her, stepping into the six inch, gold heels she had dug out of her suitcase. Bonnie nodded and Caroline placed the veil in her hair. She gave Bonnie a tight hug before they walked out of the suite and the hotel concierge led them down to the garden area where the wedding was going to take place. The blonde smiled, linking Bonnie's arm with hers as they walked down the aisle to the three boys and the minister.

"Do you Bonnie take Jeremy to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse as long as you both shall live?" The minister began. Bonnie and Jeremy had opted for a simple ceremony. It only being the five of them, they just wanted to be married. Nothing mattered to the young couple, but the end result.

"I do." Bonnie said.

"Do you Jeremy take Bonnie to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward for better or for worse as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." Jeremy said as Bonnie's eyes started to well up with tears. He gently reached up and wiped the tears out from underneath her eyes.

"Do we have the rings?" He asked. Stefan pulled the two platinum rings from his coat pocket. He handed each of the rings to Jeremy and Bonnie, "The rings represent the never ending love that Bonnie and Jeremy share with one another. They are a symbol for the circle of trust, hope, and compassion they share. Now repeat after me, with this ring, I thee wed."

"With this ring, I thee wed." Bonnie said slipping the ring on Jeremy's finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed." Jeremy said matching Bonnie's wedding ring up to the engagement ring she was already wearing.

"With the power vested in me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you man and wife. Son, you may kiss your bride." Jeremy wrapped his arms tightly around Bonnie's waist, leaning her down to kiss her, "It is my pleasure to present to you for the first time. Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Hoyt." Caroline, Stefan, and Damon clapped for them, Caroline and Bonnie hugging tightly as soon as Jeremy released his wife.

"Sign the damn marriage certificate so we can go party," Damon said with a smith, wrapping his arm around Caroline when Bonnie finished hugging her. Bonnie smacked the back of his head, before Jeremy handed her the pen so she could sign it.

Once all the papers were signed, the five of them took Bonnie's wedding photos much to Damon's chagrin. He complied though, after Bonnie threatened to give him an aneurysm and Caroline threatened to withhold sex. That did not, however, stop him from complaining about how many photos needed to be taken and how ridiculous the poses they were put in. He had to hold back a small growl when the photographer put Caroline between Stefan and himself for a few wedding party shots. He knew that Stefan had promised not to try anything with Caroline, but having her between the two of them had brought back a million bad memories of Katherine and Elena. Two people he didn't want to think about on a day that was supposed to be happy.

"You're married!" Caroline exclaimed, pulling Bonnie out to dance with her on the dance floor of the restaurant they were at in the hotel.

"I know. I can't believe it either," Bonnie squealed.

"Do you remember when we were little girls and we used to plan out our weddings? They were always overly dramatic and elaborate."

"That was the wedding you planned. Mine were simple," she pointed out, "and no, I never in a million years thought I would be getting married in Las Vegas with the Salvatore brothers acting as best men and witnesses."

"Well, none of this is how we expected our lives to turn out, but we're alive and you are married. I wouldn't have it any other way. I just feel left out now. Bonnie, Jeremy, Stefan, and Damon Hoyt and then there's me. Caroline Wells. Maybe I should just feel special instead. I get my own last name," she grinned.

"I have to tell you something. I haven't even told Jeremy and no this is not why I moved the wedding up," Bonnie said, biting her lip as she studied Caroline's face, watching it light up when the blonde put it together. "You are going to be Aunt Caroline in eight months."

Caroline wrapped her arms around Bonnie tightly, loosening her grip when she remembered she was human. "Oh my gosh, I'm going to spoil this little thing rotten, I can't even tell you how happy I am." She smiled, pressing her hand against Bonnie's stomach.

"Just let me tell him myself okay? I know you get over excited and blurt things out, but I need to tell him myself."

"My lips are sealed." Caroline smiled.

"Can I steal my girlfriend back? I think your husband is looking for you anyway, Witchy," Damon asked, wrapping his arm around Caroline's waist. Bonnie rolled her eyes before nodding and finding her way back to Jeremy. Damon spun Caroline around so he could press a kiss to her lips.

"I love weddings. Bonnie looked beautiful. She and Jeremy are so happy," Caroline rambled, as Damon took her hand. The two of them began to walk away from the area where everyone was, towards the hotel garden. "Do you think it's going to be weird living with a married couple? It's going to be weird for them, I'm sure. Especially with you commenting on their honeymoon sex. Try to be nice to them. It is bad enough it isn't safe for them to go on an actual honeymoon; they don't need you doing the commentary. Consider it a wedding present."

"Are you going all wedding crazy on me, Blondie?" he asked with a laugh, intertwining his fingers with hers. "I will try my hardest not to comment on witchy and little brother's sexual escapades. It will be hard to bite my tongue, but I suppose I can for a few days."

"Good. I knew I fell in love with you for a reason." Caroline pressed a kiss to his cheek as they walked. "This place is beautiful. I didn't know places like this existed in Las Vegas. I always thought it was all seedy strip-clubs and casinos." Her nose wrinkled when she spoke about her previous notions of the Vegas Strip.

"Vegas has changed a lot since the last time I was here."

"Oh? And when was that?"

"The seventies, I think? I'm not sure. Most of the sixties and seventies blend together for me. It's all a blur of tie-dye, acid wash, and way more LSD than I'd ever like to cop to." He smirked over at her as she rolled her eyes at him. "The strip is actually exactly like that, but we are about six miles off the strip. This is the place you come to relax after you win back there."

"You are crazy enough, you never needed to take LSD," Caroline snorted, squealing when he tickled her. When he finally stopped, she took a moment to catch her breath before stopping to look around. She marveled, taking in the beauty of the secluded garden he had led her to. "It's beautiful here, Damon."

"Not as beautiful as you," he murmured against her ear. "You know I love you, right?"

"Of course, I do. That's a silly question. You show me every day. I love you too Salvatore." Caroline grinned, looking up at him.

"And I would do anything for you. Just to make you smile," he said as she nodded. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small, black, velvet box. "I'm not getting down on one knee, because it's way over done, but I want to spend eternity with you, Care. I love you. The fact that I actually want this should prove how good you are for me. Marry me?" he asked, opening the small box to reveal a perfect, cushion-cut diamond, surrounded by smaller diamonds. He watched as Caroline opened her mouth to speak before groaning and slumping forward into him instead. "Care-" He stared to lift her before feeling the sting only a wooden bullet could bring in his shoulder. He heard more shots, the solitary ping of a silencer, some of the bullets hitting Caroline some hitting him. Both vampires slumped to the ground, Damon laying helpless as he watched two men drag a now unconscious Caroline to a van and drive off before everything faded to black.

**A/N: Sorry for the cliff-hanger! I'm working on the next chapter as we speak so don't kill me please! As always reviews are like crack and greatly appreciated, they make me write faster, I swear!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Eight – Losing Your Memory**

_Call all your friends__. __Tell them I'm never coming back__, c__ause this is the end__. __Pretend that you want it, don't react__. __The damage is done__. __The police are coming too slow now__. __I would have died__, __I would have loved you all my life__. __You're losing your memory now__. __Where have you gone?__Remember the day__, c__ause this is what dreams should always be__. __I just want to stay__. __I just want to keep this dream in me._

"Caroline and Damon have been gone for a while," Bonnie commented as she sat at the table with Jeremy and Stefan.

"Knowing Damon, he probably dragged Caroline off to the hotel room for the evening without saying goodbye to any of us," Stefan said, trying to give a small laugh and shake his head to hide any lingering resentment.

Bonnie bit her lip knowing what was happening was going to be hard for Stefan to take. "Damon was proposing to Caroline tonight. Even if Damon tried to drag her up to the hotel room, Caroline would've come and told me first," she said, watching Stefan's face drop. "What I'm trying to say is that I have a bad feeling. Caroline should've come back and told me by now. They left nearly a half hour ago. I think we should take a look around. He was going to do it in the garden."

"Damon told you that?" Stefan questioned.

"Yeah, I helped him pick out the ring before we left Seattle," Bonnie admitted.

Stefan let out a small sigh of relief. He was glad, for Caroline's sake, that the decision to propose came to Damon before the brother had their talk the day before. He wouldn't want Damon to do this out of spite or in a twisted way of marking his territory, but with the timing it was clear that wasn't the case. He then began to think about it, Bonnie was right. If Caroline had a shiny, new rock on her finger, the first thing she would do would be to come show it off to Bonnie. "Let's go take a look around then," he said, standing from the table. Jeremy helped Bonnie up and the three of them began to walk around the garden.

"Damon? Caroline!" Bonnie called out.

"Damon is going to kill you if you interrupt his proposal," Jeremy pointed out before hearing a small noise; he shushed everyone, listening for the noise again. He followed what sounded like a groan and rushed towards Damon when he came into view. Jeremy took in the sight; half the bullets were already working their way out, but Damon still looked like hell. It seemed all at once, they came to the realization that, while Damon looked like hell, he was there and Caroline was nowhere to be found. Stefan stripped his suit coat off and placed it over Damon.

"Jeremy, Bonnie, take Damon back to the hotel room. Get the bullets out, give him some blood, and wait for me. I'm going to look for Caroline-"

"Caroline…" Damon moaned when he heard Stefan say her name.

"We're going to find her Damon," Stefan reassured.

"They… took her," he managed to get out as Stefan and Jeremy lifted him from the garden ground. Stefan shared a worried glance with Bonnie as the three of them began to try to get him up to the hotel room without being seen. Bonnie watched ahead, helping them get him into the elevator before the four of them made it into the room. Once they made it inside the room, they immediately got to work pulling the wooden bullets from Damon's body. Bonnie and Jeremy found some blood for him and began to get him back up to operating order.

"We have to find her!" Damon yelled, beginning to head towards the door. Stefan was quick to stop him.

"We have to figure out where she is first, Damon. Storming around Las Vegas, this pissed off won't be good for anyone, especially Caroline. We need to figure this out first," Stefan said. His words did not amuse Damon, who only growled in response, trying to move past Stefan out the door. Stefan grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back against the door. "Damon, I love her too! Just because you have her, doesn't mean it's killing you more than it is me. We're going to find her and you two are going to get married and live happily ever after for all of eternity, but you need to calm the hell down first if you want to get this accomplished."

Damon seemed to snap out of his vengeful daze at Stefan's words. He remained silent for a moment, trying to formulate a plan. "Jeremy, search the internet for foreclosures, empty warehouses, anything secluded. Stefan, help him you know how vampires think," he ordered before turning to Bonnie, "Can you do a locator spell without..?" he asked, pointing from her stomach and back up to her.

"How do you know?" Bonnie asked, her hand sliding protectively over her stomach.

"I'm a vampire, heartbeats are my thing," he pointed out. "I want to find her, but if it's going to risk my niece or nephew, I have other witches I could call."

His sincerity actually touched Bonnie for a moment before she snapped back to the reality of the situation. "No, a locator spell shouldn't pose a risk, but I can't promise I'll be able to pin-point it. Especially if he has witches trying to prevent me from seeing their location," she told him. Turning to give Jeremy a look, "We'll talk about it later." She waved him off as she started searching for a map. Damon turned on his heel, pacing as he tried to think of something else to do when his phone rang. He lifted the phone seeing 'unknown caller' flash across the screen.

"Hello," he answered wearily.

"_Damon Salvatore_," Jeremiah said in an amused tone. "_You know, I wasn't sure if I was going to get you or that charming brother of yours. Never quite sure which of you Salvatore's I will be getting the pleasure of dealing with. Although I'm planning on dealing with both in this case._"

"Jeremiah, what do you want?" Damon, for once in his life, stayed calm. Caroline meant more to him than his temper and he knew yelling at Jeremiah would only make things worse for them all, including Care. He could not do that to her. He wasn't willing to do anything that would make things worse for her.

"Damon, I think you know exactly what I want. Your little fiancée – I shouldn't say that yet, she hasn't said yes, although I really didn't give her a chance. Caroline is the reason my wife is dead. Caroline drove a stake through Charlotte's heart to protect the little pregnant witch," Jeremiah hissed into the wife. "A vampire killed my wife so that a _witch_ could live on to bring other witches into the world. Do you know how much that pains me? It's almost as bad as if it was a werewolf."

"Alright, you've gotten your point across," Damon said, his grip around the phone tightening. "Are you going to let Caroline go or do I have to come get her?"

"You honestly think I'm letting her live?" Jeremiah asked with a small chuckle. Damon's jaw tightened when he heard Jeremiah's words. He stayed silent for a few moments, trying to formulate something to say that wouldn't get Caroline killed, and then he heard it. Caroline's gut-wrenching, agonizing scream pierced the silence of the phone line. The breath sailed from him audibly; he felt as though he'd been punched in the gut, his stomach turning at the idea of what could be making Caroline scream like that. He wanted to tear Jeremiah limb from limb. "Now you have a taste of how I felt. What it's like to have the love of your like torn from you like a leaf in the wind. She'll die, but not before she learns what pain really is and then I'll come back for the little witch." There were a few moments of quiet, during which Damon could clearly make out Caroline crying in the background before the line went dead. Damon tossed his phone against the tile floor, shattering it into a million pieces. The crying killed him more than the scream. The scream he could handle, Caroline was a vampire, pain came with the territory, but the cries meant something else entirely. Tears meant emotional pain, something that could scar his already fragile girlfriend and he'd be damned if he let Jeremiah take her from him.

"What did he say?" Jeremy asked hesitantly.

"That he's going to torture and kill her then kill Bonnie," Damon said walking over to the table Bonnie and Stefan were at. "Exactly what I expected he would say and do." He stared at the map, watching as Bonnie work on the spell with Stefan. They used Caroline's tooth brush as the DNA connection for the spell. He watched nervously waiting for the liquid to stop moving on a spot. Jeremy immediately got to work on the computer, putting the coordinates into the digital map to see what was in the area.

"Alright, there's two abandoned buildings within that area. It's about seventeen miles outside of Las Vegas and there's nothing but desert around them for miles," Jeremy said, pulling the satellite view up on his computer so they could see. "That being said, there's nothing around, you are going to have a hell of a time sneaking up on them and I'm sure he has guards and witches."

"Let us worry about that, Mini-Gilbert," Damon said, using his old nickname for the kid.

"Last names?" Bonnie questioned.

"He already has Caroline, what difference does it make now. He's clearly found us and he knows you are pregnant so he's been following us for a while," Damon said, letting out a breathe so he didn't snap at anyone. "At least when all this is over, I can make Caroline a Salvatore and not that horrible last name I think I took from True Blood," he cringed remembering where he'd heard it.

"Let's go." Stefan said, not wanting to waste time cringing over his brother's plans to marry Caroline. He was personally more concerned with saving her life.

Damon nodded, looking back at Bonnie and Jeremy. "I cannot possibly emphasis this enough, _stay here_," he said sternly. "Caroline will kick my ass if I let either of you get hurt while I'm rescuing her."

"I've got a better idea," Stefan said. "There's a house across the street, from what I can tell there's only a man that lives there. Let's put them inside and compel them the guy not to invite anyone in." Damon nodded and the four of them headed out of the hotel and pulling together the first part of their plan to get Jeremy and Bonnie to safety. Once that was in place, the two brothers set off to save the woman they loved.

_**A/N: Sorry this one is short. The next one will be longer I promise. As always please review! I love you guys. 3 **_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Nine – I Need a Doctor**

_I'm about to lose my mind. You've been gone for so long, I'm running out of time. I need a doctor, call me a doctor. I need a doctor, doctor to bring me back to life. _

"What are we going to do?" Stefan asked as he and Damon sat watching from a distance, trying to get a feel for the situation and set up of the building.

"I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead yet," Damon mumbled, trying to time the guards and figure out exactly how long it took for them to make their rounds around the building, counting them.

"So are we just going to barge in?" Stefan questioned.

"It's always worked out so well for us in the past," Damon shrugged. "There's three guards, vampires. I'm sure Jeremiah will know the second we are here so I think we're better off tearing heads off and heading inside. Who knows how many are in there. Hold off on using the Vervain dart unless you have to."

Stefan nodded and Damon motioned forward. They both ran, snapping the heads off the three guards before they knew what was happening. The broke the lock off the inside of the door before entering. Damon was skeptical that they weren't immediately rushed once again as soon as they made it inside, but it was eerily silent. On one side he was happy he couldn't hear Caroline screaming in pain, but that realization quickly became unnerving when he realized what the alternatives to her screaming were.

"Do we split up?" Stefan asked in a whisper.

"Huge building. We don't have much of a choice," Damon said, his face laced with concern and anger.

The two men headed off in two different directions, both being cautious as they tried to find anything that would lead them to Caroline. Damon was extremely worried by the lack of guards, there should have been more obstacles standing in his way. He ran into a few vampires and witches along the way, taking out each one with much too much ease. He was used to having to fight so hard for everything; he expected this to be much the same. He was beginning to question whether or not Caroline and Jeremiah were actually there when he Jeremiah standing there wearing a smirk.

"Somehow I knew you would be stupid enough to come after her. Love makes you do dumb things, Salvatore. I would have thought you would have learned that after Katherine," Jeremiah spoke with an air of confidence. Damon's jaw clenched in response, making the vampire in front of him chuckle. "You are about forty-five minutes too late on that regard. Ms. Forbes has been pumped with enough Vervain to kill an original if possible and staked. Her body is currently decaying in a vervain bath, very effective, I might add."

It was at that moment that Damon lunged at him. It didn't matter than Jeremiah was hundreds of years older and much stronger. With Caroline gone, nothing mattered to him. Nothing but killing the man who took Caroline from him. Damon was breed for this, if a hundred and fifty plus years had taught him nothing but one thing, it was how to kill, how to destroy anything in his path, anything that pissed him off or wronged him in some way and with Caroline gone, he had nothing left to lose.

It quickly became apparent during the fight that Jeremiah felt much the same as Damon. The fight was between two men who had nothing to live for, one who had just exacted his vengeance and one who was trying to get just that. The fight was easy and rather anticlimactic for Damon. Jeremiah barely even fought back and Damon had his head twisted off in a matter of minutes. Afterwards, he just sat there. He'd sunk to the floor next to the body, a hand pushing through his now messy hair, staring at the floor in front of him. He didn't know what to do, how to function. This was nothing like when he lost Katherine, regardless of how much he loved Katherine at the time; he always knew she deserved what she got. Damon always knew deep down that Katherine was a vindictive bitch and it was only a matter of time before it caught up to her, but Caroline was different. Caroline was good; she was fiercely loyal and confident and perfect in every conceivable way. Caroline Forbes was the one light in Damon's world and without her everything was dark. His mind raced, he didn't want to live without her. Sitting on the floor, he weighed his options he couldn't very well rip his own heart out or his own head off, he knew that Stefan wouldn't do it. That left taking his ring off in the sun or staking himself; the morning would take too long. He couldn't live another eight hours without her. The stake was the only real option he had; he needed to find her first. He couldn't let Caroline's body rot away in some building; he wanted to give her what she deserved, a proper burial, a funeral.

Standing from the ground, Damon began to look around for another door, another room, any sign of Caroline. His worse fear was that Caroline was no longer there, that he wouldn't be able to find her body, that he'd never be able to lay her to rest.

"Damon!" Stefan called out, bringing Damon's attention to something other than his own internal battle. He followed the voice until he found Stefan, standing with Caroline's body in his arms.

"She's dead, Stefan," he said, his voice void of all emotion. He was dead, for the first time in his afterlife, he felt truly dead. He watched as Stefan pulled the stake from Caroline's chest and had to resist the urge to plunge it into his own.

"No she isn't. He missed her heart by millimeters I'm sure, but she's still here. Barely though. She needs blood. She's been pumped with so much vervain I'm almost certain that's all that's running through her veins right now, sitting in it didn't help," Stefan spat. Damon had Caroline in his arms and was out the door before Stefan could ask any questions about Jeremiah. The two of them sped back to the hotel with Caroline in a matter of moments.

"Blood!" Damon yelled out, ripping the vervain soaked clothes off of her as he stepped into the shower with her in his arms. "Get me some fucking blood!" he yelled again, trying to rinse the vervain from her skin. He was growing more and more frustrated by the second, both at the time it was taking for someone to bring him blood and the fact that Caroline wasn't going to heal without it. Pulling her out of the shower with him, he wrapped her in a towel and met Stefan in the bedroom holding an arm full of blood bags.

"How do we get her to drink?" Stefan asked as he dropped all of the blood bags on the bed. Damon hadn't thought the far ahead, tucking Caroline into the bed. He took one of the bags and bit open the top corner and dripped some of it into her mouth, he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as it began to disappear down her throat. Even unconscious, Caroline's body willed herself to swallow. He continued to repeat this process, bandaging up the wound on her chest. Stefan backed out of the room, giving Damon a few moments alone with Caroline.

"How is she doing?" Bonnie asked with a worried expression when Stefan walked out of the room. She jumped up from the couch where she was sitting with Jeremy.

"She's really banged up, Damon is forcing blood down her throat now and it seems like she's taking it. I don't even think she had any blood left in her when we found her. She's been pumped full of vervain and she was soaking in it when I found her. He shot her with wooden bullets and he staked her, trying for the heart, he just barely missed it," Stefan sighed, the severity of the situation weighing heavily on him. He watched Bonnie turn into Jeremy and cry.

"What about Jeremiah?" Jeremy asked looking up at Stefan with a bit of fear in his eyes.

"I'm not sure what happened, but his head was on the floor away from his body when we left so I'm guessing Damon took care of him. He's not going to bother us anymore. We don't have to run," Stefan said. "Now Caroline just need to be okay and wake up."

"It's really over?" Bonnie asked. Stefan nodded. He really couldn't bring himself to speak again. He knew Bonnie and Jeremy were itching to see Caroline, he was too, but they all knew Damon needed to get her to some stability before he would let anyone in the room. Stefan could hear him talking to her, barely above a whisper, but he could hear him. Telling her he loved her, that he was sorry he didn't protect her, that she needed to drink, begging her to drink. Stefan wanted to do the same, he just needed Caroline to get better.

|TVD|

After an hour and seven blood bags, Damon sighed in relief when he noticed her chest wound was closing. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, but the relief didn't last long, normally when things began to heal, the person would wake up, but Caroline didn't seem to be coming around. He was worried, extremely so. She should have at least begun to come around by now. He managed to get her dressed before crawling into bed, holding her close to him. He finally looked up when he heard a knock on the door, giving Bonnie a sad smile as she walked in.

"Can I talk to her?" she asked sheepishly. Damon nodded before hesitantly clearing the room, trusting that she wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. It was unspoken, but Bonnie nodded to him before sitting down on the bed and taking Caroline's hand. She wasn't sure what to say to her, but she knew she needed to say something, hoping the blonde could hear her.

"Care, I know you are here, you need to wake up. I've never seen Damon like this, so nervous and pacey. He needs you. This baby needs you. Who else is going to dress he or she up? I need you to help me with it, it can't grow up with Aunt Caroline sleeping all the time," she said softly, tucking a strand of damp, blonde hair behind Caroline's ear. "I love you, Care. I need you. I need my best friend, my sister." She looked up as Jeremy walked in, giving him a weak smile as he walked over sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Caroline, you gotta wake up," Jeremy said. "The three of us will not be able to handle Damon if you don't. You keep him grounded, it's all you. He's going to do postal if you don't wake up."

"We all would a little," Bonnie added.

"I grew up with you, Care. You and Elena were my big sisters and I lost her. I can't lose you too. I just need you to wake up. I need you to tell me when I'm being an idiot," he told her before kissing her forehead and leading Bonnie out of the room and letting Stefan walk in.

Damon was hesitant about letting Stefan go in alone. He didn't know why, but there was a level of uneasiness that went along with Stefan being alone with Caroline, even in her current state. He knew Stefan wouldn't hurt her and he was sure most of the feeling was just him itching to get back into the room with her, but he let him have his time, trying to decide how to occupy the time until he could go back in and lay with her, he was also trying to figure out another way to get her to wake up. He needed her, more than he had every needed anyone.

|TVD|

Stefan was not entirely sure what to say to Caroline. It was weird seeing her like this. Caroline had been a ball of sunshine that bounded into his life a year ago and though she annoyed him at first, if he was honest, she always made everything better. She was a constant ray of life in his life and Damon's, everyone's really. She just existed to make everyone feel better. She could be bossy and nosey and lord knows when she was on a power trip, heaven help them, but that was what made her Caroline. He couldn't even find words to describe her; every little thing about her was just so innately _her._

As much as he wanted to sit down on the bed and kiss her forehead, hold her close, he knew he couldn't. She wasn't his and she never was. He did sit down on the bed though; he reached forward to tuck her hair behind her ear, looking down at her. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to form the words he needed to say to her, anything to say to her really.

"Caroline, I know, I'm never going to have you. I know I'm not the one you want and I never will be, but that doesn't mean I want this for you. I still need you even if I don't have you romantically. I need my best friend, the person I confide in. I need someone to help me take care of Damon. I need you to be okay," he said, taking a deep breath. "I love you, and I probably always will, but you love Damon and he loves you and you two need each other. I can see that, so not for me, but for him. I need you to wake up for him." He leaned over to press a kiss to her forehead before turning to walk away to get Damon. Before he could take a step he felt a slender and weak hand around his wrist, stopping him dead in his tracks.

_**A/N: Sorry, there have been huge gaps. Life gets in the way sometimes. There's only one more chapter so it should be done quickly. As always, reviews are like crack, so please review!**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Ten - Just You and Me **

_Baby it's just you and me. We've got a thing they can't' shake. Maybe it's a little hard sometimes to take, but I'll tell you something. It's a life worth living, just so you know. I wouldn't give it, no._

"Damon?" Caroline asked, her eyes not yet open as she blindly reached from something, anything. Her hand landed on Stefan's wrist, pulling him slightly. She opened her eyes and looked up to see Stefan, and then the gravity of his words sunk in. She tried to hide it from her face, but she was weak and doing a horrible job, no doubt.

"No, it's Stefan, Caroline," he told her softly. "Do you want me to get Damon?" he asked, trying to hide the small amount of hurt that crossed her face when he realized the first thing she thought of was Damon, not that he was surprised by it.

"You love me?" Caroline questioned, bluntly. She wasn't sure what to say, she had suspected it, but not to this level. She had guessed he had a small crush on her, but she had never thought he loved her. She started to say something else, but all that she managed to get out was a request for blood. Stefan jumped to hand her a bag, not answering her question. She sucked down the bag, taking a small, unnecessary breath before setting the empty bag on the nightstand. "Stefan I-"

"Caroline, you don't have to say anything," he stopped her.

"No, Stefan," she argued. She needed to tell him what was running through her head, looking up at him, she began. "I know you think you love me, but you don't." He gave her a quizzical look, but she put her hand up to stop him from arguing before continuing. "Stefan when you and Elena started having problems we got closer. You are my best friend aside from Bonnie. It makes perfect sense that you would shift your feelings from Elena to me, I'm the exact opposite of Elena in every way. Elena was little miss perfect, even in death, she was doing the right thing. Whereas I am flawed and I never say the right thing and I'm just unequivocally me."

Stefan listened to her, trying to figure out when exactly Caroline became to insightful. Her theory made sense, but he was sure that they both knew that it wasn't true.

"But Stefan, I love Damon. I'm in love with him and he loves me," she said, looking up at him. "You are going to find someone who is going to be perfect for you. Someone who fits in the middle of the line between Elena and I. Someone that will love you back, for everything that you are. That you don't have to share with your brother, because this is twice in a row now."

"I know, we have a bad habit of falling for the same girls," he added awkwardly. "I'm going to get Damon. I'm sure he knows you are awake by now and I'm shocked he hasn't barged in already." Caroline nodded and Stefan walked out of the room, coming face to face with a somewhat smug looking Damon. He didn't say a word to him; he walked right past Stefan into the room to Caroline. Stefan watched from the doorway. He knew he shouldn't, he knew it would hurt, but it took him a few moments to pull away.

"I love you so much," Damon said, pressing his forehead to hers, cupping her face gently. He didn't know what to do or what to say to her, what he could possibly do to make her feel better. Watching as the tears welled up in her eyes, he pulled her to his chest, his hand running over her back softly. He could feel her tears soaking his shirt and it was all he could do to stay strong for her.

"It h-hurt s-s-so much," she choked out, her words muffled against his chest. His jaw clenched hearing the words, he wanted to kill Jeremiah all over again.

"Shh, he's dead," he said, running his fingers through her hair gently. "He's never going to hurt you again. No one ever will." He pulled back to look her in the eyes. "I will never let you get hurt again, ever. No one will ever touch you Caroline." He pressed his lips to her forehead.

"I love you so much," Caroline said, holding him as tightly as she could.

Damon held her for a few more moments, trying to calm her down, soothe her worries. He just wanted everything to be better for her; he wanted his sunshine Barbie back. He pulled back slightly, looking down into her eyes, "I asked you something, Caroline. You never got a chance to answer.."

|TVD|

"Is this really happening?" Caroline asked softly, looking over at Bonnie. She smiled seeing the little girl hooked on her best friend's hip.

"I can't believe it, but yes, it's really happening," Bonnie said with a smile. "Ellie what's today?" she asked the little girl as she reached for Caroline.

"Aunt Care and Uncle Damon are getting married!" The three year old exclaimed happily, making a face as Bonnie and Caroline fussed with her flower girl dress and her dark brown curls. "I'm already a princess," she smiled, "That's what Uncle Stefan told me!" she announced proudly, squirming out of her mother's arms to the ground.

"Don't get dirty, we're starting, Elle," Bonnie warned as the little girl headed to the corner of the tent to her doll. Bonnie turned back to Caroline, "I can't believe you really waited four years for a wedding."

"A. It took me four years to make sure every detail of this thing was perfect. B. If you were marrying Damon, wouldn't you wait a few years just to make sure he was serious?" Caroline asked with a laugh.

"Good point."

There was a small knock on the frame of the tent, drawing both girls attention to the opening. They both smiled instantly, making their way over to the couple standing there.

"You came," Caroline beamed, wrapping her arms around Jenna and then Alaric.

"Someone had to walk you down the aisle," Alaric said, returning her hug. He pulled back to look at her shocked expression. "Damon called and said your father was being difficult, I thought you could use someone," he said with a smile.

"You are a life saver." She hugged him again, just as tightly, a few tears escaping her eyes.

"Hey, hey, no tears yet," Jenna said, her hands leaving her pregnant stomach to reach out and wipe the tears from under Caroline's eyes. "I will tell you the same thing my mom told my sister on her wedding day. You can't cry until after he sees you, you can only cry when your last name is Salvatore, because that is something to cry about," she teased. "Only when she said it, it was Gilbert, but I'm sure you get my point." She pressed a kiss to Caroline's forehead.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Alaric asked.

"Two minutes," Caroline said. He nodded and left to walk Jenna to her seat.

"You ready to do this?" Bonnie asked, taking Caroline's house.

"I've been ready for four and a half years." She smiled. Bonnie took one last look at her, smoothing out the lines of Caroline's perfect, strapless wedding gown before kissing her cheek.

"Come on, Ellie. It's time to drop those petals." Bonnie smiled.

Caroline smiled watching the two of them walk out of the tent. This was it. This was the way it was supposed to be. There were no more obstacles standing in their way. No more evil vampires. No more werewolves. Not even Damon's ego seemed to get in their way anymore. After taking, Alaric's arm, the only thing that was standing in their way seemed to be ten steps. She took a breath before walking down the aisle. Kissing Alaric's cheek, she slid her hands into Damon's and that was it. There was nothing between them now. With two small words, a kiss, and a declaration, there would never be anything between them again.


End file.
